


Getting Harry Back

by Hpzfgkelptghu666



Series: Solangelo's Adventures [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-09-26 06:02:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 50,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20384863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hpzfgkelptghu666/pseuds/Hpzfgkelptghu666
Summary: warning: one line of swearing





	1. Chapter 1

A/N: okay so i have actually previously written a story before this so this is the sequel. There are some stuff you need to take note of…

#1. Thomas and Teresa are not and will not be in the story.

#2. The ending of this fanfic is different from the one in the movie/book

#3. This is mostly between Solangelo, Newt and Minho. Chuck will also not be as prominent in the fanfic

#4. Nico and Will have no idea that they're demigods but they may find out later (idk It depends)

#5. I am using the appearances of them in the movie, not the book

#6. Set during Maze Runner (movie) and after THO (ToA)

#7. Some of the stuff im writing may not be mine

#8. In this fanfic, WICKED doesnt control the Glade. It is an abandoned maze constructed also by Daedelus. The maze is an essential part of raising the dead. If Nico doesnt pass this labyrinth, he cannot bring back Harry Potter, a soul never meant to die.

#9. This 'Maze Runner' part is based off the movie  
_

Nico awoke to boy with sandy coloured hair lying unconscious next to him. The boy had a strong jawline and was wearing a skimpy white shirt with faded light blue jeans. His hand was in his, rough and callused. There seemed to be a bright aura emitting from him, and for a brief moment, Nico wondered how he could sense that. He looked around him. He was trapped in a rapidly moving box full of some supplies Nico did not know. He looked at himself.

He was wearing a black shirt with matching black jeans and a black aviator jacket. He had bony features and his fingers were long and skinny. The outfit hung loosely off him. Nico did not notice much that was weird about himself other than the fact that he seemed to have an unhealthy obsession with the colour black. But yet, it made him feel safe and happy. The box was slowing down. Lights shone at every two metre interval and his mind was filled with questions.

Who am i? Where am i? What am i doing here? Who is this boy? Where am i going? Why is this boy holding me? Why do i feel so attracted to him? Wait...what? Nothing. Nico was disgusted by his own questions and wasnt surprised when no answers came up.

The box stopped and the metal rattled loudly. Nico looked up and his stare was met with several eyes. For some odd reason, the moment he returned the look, everyone turned away quickly. Nico was confused. He had only intended to see who was around. Finally, a boy pushed to the front of the crowd and stretched out a hand to pull him up. The boy didnt seem to be afraid of him. Well, not yet.

He rather tall and muscular, with blond hair that came down a bit above his shoulder. He had a prominent square jaw and his eyebrows were tightly knitted together. His eyes were a dark shade of black and his slightly parted lips were thin. His four limbs were lined with defined muscles and Nico noticed that he walked with a limp. He wore an off-white long-sleeved hoodie and almond brown pants that reached just above his ankles. On his shoulders he carried a sling for tools and he had on beige shoes. He was what Nico would have described as a fine boy, hardened by experience.

The boy touched Nico's hand and was struck by how cold they were. It was freezing but yet Nico didnt seem to notice it. On the other hand, Nico noticed the warmth of his hand and drew back. Something about touching others frightened him. It made him insecure and petrified. He hastily wiped his hands on his jeans and he heaved himself up from the box. It was a relatively easy climb out of the box and he was glad he did so. Now, he could see the size of the place.

It was huge. Gigantic. A magnificent plot of land. It was around four football fields in size with high walls surrounding it. Grass grew healthily in the place and the sky was blue. Azure clouds flew about in the sky in a robotic movement, and an occasional bird flew over their heads. There was a grassy area where crops were grown and water seemed to be pumped. A double storey building occupied a corner of the area. If he turned at a certain angle, he could see a jail-like place. This struck an involuntary thought in his head.

it is nothing like the Fields of Punishment. Nico tilted his head in confusion. Where had that thought come from? It seemed almost subconscious. Involuntary. He shook his head and turned 180° to face the back. There was a large barn and a small forest with a graveyard. For some odd unexplainable reason, he was drawn to it. It attracted him very much. It seemed to be calling out to him, luring him there.

Near the box was a rectangular concrete building with no windows. It was a queer sight; a room, windowless. Why would anyone want that? Wasnt it stuffy?

"That's the Map Room." this was a new voice. Nico whipped around. The boy speaking was what Nico would have described as an Asian with strong arms and short black hair, who looked to be a little older than him. He intense eyes would have scared the average person, but to Nico, they were nothing more than two round spheres in their rightful places. He, too, was a rather fine-looking lad.

"Im Minho, Keeper of the Runners, also more commonly known as the Leader." Minho extended an arm to shake his hand but Nico stared blankly at him. He didnt want to cause the boy to receive an ice-cold hand. He looked away and turned to the unconscious sandy-haired boy. He looked so innocent when he was asleep. His hands were curled into fists and his lips showed the ghost of a smile. He appeared so cute. Nico smiled for the first time since he arrived. He had a feeling he smiled a lot when this boy was around, but he couldnt remember why. Minho awkwardly cleared his throat and said something quietly to the first boy. He nodded and a grim look was set on his face.

"Im Newt, second-in-command here. Its nice to meet you. I was just wondering...how much do you remember?" This was the first boy speaking. Nico frowned. How did Newt know he suffered from this odd amnesia? He didnt recall telling anybody.

"I dont remember anything." Nico answered warily as he kept an eye on the unconscious boy. He felt vaguely protective of him. Newt nodded skeptically and whispered to Minho.

"Well, this is the Glade. I'll tell you more inside. Lets get you and your friend inside the Map Room first yeah?" Nico did not respond and the people stiffly made way for Nico to follow them. Nico looked back and peered at the unconscious boy in the box. In the spur of the moment, Nico bent down, stomach flat on the ground, and heaved the boy up. The boy was surprisingly light for Nico and he cradled the boy in his arms gingerly. This felt somewhat familiar. Again. But Nico could not pinpoint exactly why.

Newt and Minho glanced at Nico in slight amazement. The boy he was carrying did not seem the least bit easy to carry but for some reason, Nico seemed to be faring fairly well. Minho stepped towards him and reached his hands out to lift the burden off Nico. Minho nearly collapsed from the weight of the boy. Carrying him was no mean feat. He must have weighed at least 145 pounds.

Newt smirked at Minho's difficulty. He felt like jeering at Minho, but held his tongue. He really needed to talk to this young new boy and his friend. Newt considered the boy.

He had sunken sockets that held his eyes. His ribcage stuck out like a sore thumb and his shaggy black hair shadowed his ghostly dark brown orbs. He had a perfect high-bridged dainty nose and his red-tinted lips were angelic. His gaunt cheeks emphasised the dark circles that hung under his eyes and his pale complexion was clear. His black t-shirt fell loosely off his lean frame but yet several well-defined muscles lined his biceps. A similar black jacket was tied around his waist and a sword was inserted into a part of his black coloured jeans. He had a faint scar on his left arm and on his feet were black combat boots. He looked like a warrior, ready to attack.

Newt forced his gaze to turn to the other boy. He had a surfer-body, shaggy blond hair, blue eyes, and an athletic build. He wore a casual white t-shirt and jeans. Somewhat similar to the previous boy's but of the opposite shade. His was a light shade of blue, almost a white. He looked handsome, like a girl's knight in shining armour.

These two were a peculiar pair, but Newt did not delve too much into it. He offered to carry the load on Minho's arms. He was soon occupied with not dropping the boy and carefully balancing him on his arms while walking normally. Nico saw this and sighed. To think that he thought they were muscular! Nico strode over to Newt and raised an eyebrow at him, arms outstretched. Newt blushed and let the boy roll off his arms and onto Nico's. Nico stared blankly at the motionless figure on his arms and his eyes softened. He released one of his supporting hands to brush away a stray strand of hair from his face. Newt looked on awkwardly and broke the silence.

"We need to talk, Greenie."  
_

"Well, this place is called the Glade. It is our home. There is no female presence here and everyone here is civilised. So, there are many rules in the Glade. Firstly, you must never go outside the Glade, unless you're a Runner. Number two, never hurt another Glader. You have to trust each other. And lastly, everyone does their part. No slackers. If you violate any of these rules, we'll have to decide your punishment."

Nico leaned forward in his seat and looked Newt in the eye, causing the usually collected boy to flinch away slightly.

"Tell me, what are the...jobs here?" Minho answered for Newt, and looked at him, concerned. It wasnt like Newt to look so...uneasy.

"Well, there are the Builders. They build new or upgrade places in the Glade. Bricknicks. They have almost the same job as Builders but are actually tasked with repairing buildings. Sloppers, example, a boy named Chuck. They do dirty tasks, housework, basically any job the Gladers do not want to do. They are treated as the lowest ranked job. This job is given to Gladers who are bad at every other job. Well, they arent bad...they just are more effective doing that kind of work. Baggers, like Billy, act as guards and deal with any dead bodies. Cooks. They cook and prepare the meals. Track-hoes. Gladers who work in the Gardens – tilling, weeding, planting and harvesting. Med-jacks. They act as doctors. Slicers. They work in the Bloodhouse – take care of livestock and slaughter animals for food. Runners. They are the only Gladers allowed to go in the Maze; they run through it every day and accumulate information about the wall movements to draw the Maze day after day in order to find a way out. At the end of each day, they return to the Glade and spend some time in the Map room, drawing maps using their memory and quick jotted notes from in the Maze. Each Runner is responsible for their maps. For example, i, myself, am a runner. That is basically my typical day. Running around."

Nico nodded. There were a whole lot of weird things going on around here. He carefully weighed the jobs, wondering which one he aspired to be. One stood out prominently. It was different. Thrilling. Exciting. Nico felt a rush of energy surge in his mind. He knew he could not choose what he wanted to be. But maybe, just maybe, if he proved himself worthy, he could do it. He smiled to himself. He lay his gaze on Newt and Minho, causing the two of them to squirm uncomfortably in their seats.

"If i prove myself worthy of a certain job, can i do that?" Nico made a gamble. He knew what he wanted.

Newt considered this. He did not want the boy to randomly explode with anger because he said 'no' and besides, they did after all see what one could do before assigning him a job. Newt caught Minho's eye and he solemnly nodded.

Nico smiled, though it held no happiness. It held, satisfaction. He already knew what he wanted. He had a plan. A plan he would make work out. The unconscious boy stirred slightly, but now, Nico took no notice of him. He was too fixated on what he was thinking. It could work. It should work. It would work. It must work. A fire burned in Nico's eyes.

He wanted to be a runner.


	2. Chapter 2

Nico wanted to be a runner, but no way he was going to tell the Gladers. They were probably just going to jeer and laugh at him, completely ignoring the seriousness hidden behind that tone. He would prove his worth to everyone. He would make that clear. He would properly establish that.

He stood up and the chair creaked slightly under the weight being lifted off. Nico couldnt help but sneek a peek at the boy in his arms. Nico simply couldnt get over how cute the boy looked. He shuddered at his own thoughts. How could he think about another boy in that way? He gingerly transferred the weight of the boy from his arms to his back such that the boy clung onto him like a koala bear. He was stirring slightly and mumbling incoherently. Nico exhaled. He was finally waking. Nico watched as a tiny bead of his sweat drop off his chin and onto the boy's face. Nico was starting to get rather jittery about him not waking up. But...why? Who was he to him? Nico felt like tearing his hair from his head. He wanted to remember. One small thing. Just a tiny memory. Why couldnt he?

He thought about himself. He didnt know much but he felt burdened. Not the literal burden, more like in his head. He constantly felt misery; he knew before this, he had seen much, thus the weight laden in his every step, the physical condition of his body, his moody personality. Yet he felt this strong sense of loyalty, bravery, courage, blind faith. He knew he was different from the Gladers here; he wasnt like them. Perhaps the literal burden was. He looked more normal, weighed more normal, seemed more normal. Nico knew he didnt fit in, but he didnt feel perturbed by it. It was almost like an everyday occurrence. He was scared. Was he a monster? Why did he feel so apart from everyone else. He stole a quick glance at his arms. He saw cuts. Many cuts. A distinctive word was formed on his wrist. Bianca, it wrote. Bianca. It triggered a wave of sadness to flood over him. His eyes stung suddenly but he quickly masked it up with an expression of indifference.

Something flashed across Nico's face and Newt could almost see and tear form in his eyes. He knew something. Nico was scared; he could tell that. But that wasnt all. Newt could see the hardness in his eyes, the shattered and scarred bits of his life all laid out on his arms. There were open uniformed wounds, lines, parallel to each other, exactly a centimetre apart. A tiny combination of

Nico ignored the stares of his fellow Gladers and walked out into the sunshine and squinted at the Glade. He silently observed a crowing bird shunning away from him from the corner of his eye. It looked almost...scared of Nico. Weird bird, thought Nico. He looked out at the scene, grass swaying from side to side and the tiny insects singing their songs. Nico loved the greenery, but for some strange reason, he had a feeling that it wasnt reciprocated. He cautiously put one foot down onto the ground, and then the other. He didnt dare look down. He was afraid of what he would see. His senses told him that something was happening to the grass below him, but he didnt want to know what.

The Gladers slowly dispersed from the Map Room and found Nico standing on a wilted grass patch. That was puzzling. First of all, how could someone just so happen to stand squarely in the middle of a wilted grass patch and secondly, since when did grass wilt in the Glade? Newt shrugged it off. Perhaps autumn was coming. Or something. The boy in Nico's arms finally came to and when he did, he leapt off them and stood on his feet. The wind blew and his hair was blown back, revealing a perfectly chiseled jawline. The boy seemed to relish in the sunny weather and he stood there, fully embracing the wind. Minho gaped. It wasnt exactly normal to see someone who had just been unconscious do that, but then again, the other boy was not exactly normal either.

Nico looked slightly disturbed by the sunlight. It was weird. He hated the sunlight, but this sun was...different. It wasnt nearly as hot or blazing as the usual one. Wait, what usual one? Had he experienced other types of warmth before? He bit his lip and observed the boy. The boy now looked nervous, completely unlike just a few seconds ago. He ran towards Nico and held on to his hand tight. Nico felt like flinching away, cringing, but he didnt. Perhaps he was overcome by shock, or trauma. Whatever.

Newt studied this quietly by the side. He pushed his way to the frontline and grabbed on to the boy's hand. The boy shrieked in terror and proceeded to hide behind Nico. He wrapped his arms around Nico's thin waist and poked his head out above Nico's shoulders.

"Who are you?" The boy asked. Several Gladers exchanged dumbfounded looks. Newt furrowed his eyebrows and turned to Nico.

"What the bloody hell did he just say?" Nico was befuddled. Obviously the boy just said what he said. Was there anything wrong with that? He was merely asking an innocent question.

"He just said 'who are you'. Is there anything wrong with that?" if Newt didnt know better, he could have sworn that the area of the wilted grass patch doubled. Minho nodded suspiciously. What the boy just said sounded oddly more like a foreign language but he would not be the one to point that out. He did not want to incur his wrath. He was...scary, if not frightening.

Newt raised both hands up in defeat and ambled away, shaking his head and muttering something under his breath. Minho awkwardly hastened after Newt and told Nico that if he needed anything, ask the Gladers were available. Nico nodded. Unlike what the Gladers probably thought, he didnt have a problem with Newt or Minho. He was just tired and confused and stranded in some pretty… unconventional place. He pried the boy's arms from around his waist and turned to face him. He had calmed down visibly and Nico hoped he was sober enough to understand him. Nico locked his eyes with the boy and was momentarily dazed by his startling blue eyes. They sent shivers down his spine, in a familiar way. He snapped out of it and put his ice-cold hands on his shoulders.

"Hey...what's your name?" Nico asked, not really expecting an answer. He himself didnt have answers, and he didnt see why the boy would have. As he expected, the boy replied with the same 'i dont know'. Nico understood that feeling of disappointment, not fitting in, not knowing who you truly are. This amount of wisdom he possessed troubled him greatly. Had he not been socially accepted before?

"Its okay. I also dont know my name. Look around you. This beautiful place here, its called the Glade. Now, if you dont want to be a slopper, you better get up and do some work yea? No slackers." Nico let the little childlike personality in him shine and he playfully waggled his finger. It was almost funny; a shorter boy waggling his finger at a taller boy. Funny.

The boy suddenly seemed to have regained his self-consciousness for he quickly rose and thanked Nico. Nico flippantly shrugged it off and proceeded to one of the surrounding walls. Just then, a loud rumbling noise stopped him in his tracks. He looked around. He was not the only one. Everyone turned to look at the walls, and Nico, likewise. The boundaries of the Maze surrounding the Glade rose 200-300 feet high, and it was built of gray stone and covered with thick ivy. The walls were spectacular, despite the loud disconcerting noise they made. It hurt his ears, and he covered them instinctively. Everyone looked panicked, as though they were expecting something to appear. He turned to Newt, who had the same worried expression on his face.

Curiously, Nico looked at him for an answer. Newt was unresponsive; he didnt even turn around. Rather,he kept his eyes fixated on the rapidly closing walls of the maze. As it was closing, Nico faintly saw a figure staggering towards the entrance. The walls were almost shut. Nico's heart skipped a beat. The boy would be left there, forever, if he didnt do anything. It was now or never.

Nico shoved everyone out of his way and he ran towards the now collapsed boy along the closing doorway. He tasted the saltiness of his sweat prevail over his tastebuds and watched as droplets of perspiration blurred his vision. Everything slowed down around him and the only thing he could hear was the monotonous thumping of his feet as they landed on the floor. The boy in front of him had fallen to his knees as though he had accepted his fate. Nico knew calling out to him to get up would take too long, hence he decided against it. Nico roughly picked the boy up and slung him over his shoulder. He began sprinting. The walls were 4 feet apart, constantly set in a never-ending motion. The realisation that he may not make it hit him hard. Nico further quickened his footsteps.

He ran the run of his life, yelling as the walls compacted his bones together. The boy over his shoulders screamed in agony but Nico kept going. He couldnt give up now. He was just 2 feet away from the entrance. Mustering what little energy he had inside of him, he threw the boy off his shoulders out of the maze and dive-rolled at the last second just before the two walls collided. He lay down, breathless, avoiding the stunned gawks and whistles sent in his direction. He was panting and his heart was beating in his eardrums. His heart pounded, forcing its way out of his ribcage. He weakly turned to the boy he had saved and he smiled feebly. Pure gratefulness hit the boy and he kneeled at Nico's feet, calling him his saviour. Nico blocked it all out, but one thing caught his eye.

He caught sight of Newt and Minho huddled together, whispering. Always this whispering. Couldnt they stop? Nico staggered to his feet and the sandy-haired boy rushed over to steady him. This part triggered a tiny memory in his mind and Nico's eyes lit up. He recalled something. Finally.

In his mind, there was the same blue-eyed boy. They were on a battleground. Behind him was an entire army of fighters that surprisingly looked similar to him. They all exchanged happy grins. The boy spoke to him in a warm voice that sent shudders down his spine, both in the conscious and the memory him.

"Right now you couldn't summon a wishbone without melting into a puddle of darkness, di Angelo. I told you, no more Underworld-y stuff, doctor's orders. You owe me at least three days of rest in the infirmary. Starting now."

The memory him was both disappointed but secretly partly happy. Nico remembered telling him that he needed to tell someone else something and walked away.

Then the memory ended. Nico smiled. He now had an idea who he was. He was di Angelo. The boy beside him was a doctor. They knew each other! But...what did he mean by 'summon a wishbone' and 'melting into a puddle of darkness'? Nico could already tell that he himself had a dark personality but how could one melt into one's personality? Strange choice of words...

Newt seemed to have noticed this and turned sharply at him.

"You recalled something?" Nico ignored the disturbing fact that Newt had once again read his mind and nodded.

"I am di Angelo. But i cant remember my first name. For some odd reason, i know what di Angelo means. Its not English, however, its Italian. It means 'of angels'. This boy, i've met him before. He's a doctor, if im not wrong. He should be a med-jack." Nico rambled on. He felt slightly uncomfortable talking in front of a crowd but he clung on to the hope that Newt had an idea what that bit of memory could mean. He deliberately left out the questionable parts of his memory. He thought that it was probably a mistake in hearing on his part.

Newt thoughtfully rested his chin on his fist. "Your memories should slowly come back to you, but i highly doubt that you'd regain all your memories." Nico scowled.

"You mean you all only have part of your memories? Then what happened to the rest?" Nico demanded, rather aggressively. Several Gladers backed away as the wilted grass patch increased in size further. The Gladers hopped over the wilted grass and looked at it as if it could kill. All except Newt and Minho. Minho just widened his eyes in awe but did not move.

Newt was unfazed and he shrugged. He blinked once, then twice. His stare was glassy and his voice was icy.

"We dont know. No one does."


	3. Chapter 3

It was scorching. The heat beat him hard and left him burnt. He felt intense pain in his back as he fell hands first to the floor. The taste of blood on his lips was faintly mixed with sweat. He could see the blood oozing from his pant legs, but he didnt dare make a sound. They would beat him, find him and torture him. He didnt need that. He winced as he extended the wounded leg. He crawled about in the jar and thumped the glass weakly. He wanted out. He didnt want to be here. The twins turned to him with an evil cackle. They reached out their hands towards him and just as they were about to reach him, the scene changed.

She had black eyes that are like her Nico's, which sparkled with madness and genius and had silky dark hair. She was lean and about a little shorter than average height. Olive skin covered her body and she had donned a floppy green hat that hid her face. She had a silvery aura, and pulled her hair back into a braid. Her skin glowed silvery, and her face glowed with pure pleasure. She handed him a small skull ring and he thanked her happily. She affectionately tousled his hair and Nico beamed. She cupped her hands under Nico's chin and kneeled to his height.

"Ti amo, Nico. Bianca is going out, okay?" Nico pouted but nodded. He had his skull ring to play with. The girl, Bianca, bent over to kiss his forehead and left. He watched as her figure retreated slowly. The way her hair shone in the light and the way she walked with a little bounce in her steps planted a smile on his lips. Then, a shining white light blinded him. The scene changed again.

Another lady appeared. She was a woman in an old-fashioned black velvet dress with a matching hat. She wore a string of pearls and white gloves, and her dark hair was tied back into a high ballet bun. Her eyes were a dark brown and her thin lips parted into a charming smile revealing two rows of perfectly set teeth. She didnt do much, but she held him close and hugged him tight. She stood up and turned to leave. Then, as she left, a blinding light engulfed her as the building they were in collapsed. He heard the heart-wrenching screams that tore from the depths of her soul. And that was all he heard; screams, sobs…

A bespectacled boy with large emerald green eyes swiped away the image. He stood there, and slowly collapsed, without a reason. Nico felt like running over, but his legs were held firmly in place. He turned his head with immense effort. A large man was wearing a loincloth and beside him was a young boy. He looked similar to the first boy, but with sea green eyes and without spectacles. Tears ran down the second boy's cheeks as the large man pointed to the collapsed boy.

"He is dead, banished to the underworld. If you cant get him back by the end of this month, he will be there, for eternity." The large man cackled. Nico shook his head. No, this must be unreal. Who were this people? Why did he have such a reaction towards them? Why? The second boy didnt speak, and looked down at his fingers. The large man laughed evilly and pushed the boy to pick up the corpse. Nico felt a scream tear from his throat.

Nico shed a tear and the nightmares stopped. He quickly sat up in his hammock and stared at it as it slowly rocked back and forth. Back and forth. He thought about his dream. It was...traumatising, but yet, there was much information in it. He knew his name! But that no longer excited him. He had to keep his main goal in mind. He wanted to be a runner, find a way out and get out of this wretched place. As beautiful as it was, so perfect, it was fake. He knew. What really scared him, though, was the fact that he might never really leave at all.

The hammock creaked softly as he stood up. The sun was rising, hitting the top of the walls at that perfect point. Nico smiled briefly at the magnificent sight and breathed in the morning air. It smelled fresh. Birds flew mere inches from his head and soared high up into the sky, waking its fellow kind. The clouds rolled about in straight lines and the bright blue sky held the haven for the sun to rest in. He quickly stretched and freshened up at a far end of the Glade. He changed into a black top with black pants. Nico peered about the homestead. No one was awake yet. Perfect. He pointed a finger at the side of the Glade's walls and mentally drew a line along the perimeter of the Glade and kept it in his mind to visualise.

He ran. He ran along the line, training his mind to notice every small detail in the Glade. There were odd round mushrooms at the far east side that grew in clumps. Nico wrinkled his nose at that. It looked utterly disgusting. Nico picked up speed. From his run into the maze to save the boy he now knew as Ben, he knew speed was vital. He needed to be nimble, agile and fast. Three main qualities. He doubled his speed further. The tingling fingers of the nightmare grabbed at his limbs. It called out to him and drew him in. Nico shook his head. He had to run away from his nightmare. It was disturbing. The blades of grass in front of him became nothing more than a blur and his feet barely touched the ground. He felt like he was flying. It was a lovely sensation. He took in the scents of the morning grass and observed the slow swaving of the flowers. Then, the scenes from the nightmare flooded back.

"He is dead."

Nico stopped in his tracks. He wiped away a bead of sweat from his temple with a trembling hand and began running again. This time, he didnt have any build up; he just sprinted, as fast as his legs could take him, thinking that this would take away those horrid memories. The screams and scenes floated in his head every time he blinked. Now he knew why his every step felt so laden with misery. It was all because of his nightmares, his memories, his life.

He ran even quicker, the speed of light. His bony legs screamed with exhaustion, but he couldnt care less. Everything passed by and before he knew it, all the Gladers were staring at him, watching him as he tired himself. Newt spared a glance at the boy in concern. He himself had tried running, even sprinting, before, to get rid of his troubles, worries. But he had never found the right remedy for his struggles. He had a feeling Nico had not too. He saw Nico advancing steadily. Newt wisely stepped out of the path the boy was running along. Then, just as Nico brushed past him, Newt felt something slide into his rear pocket. Nico caught his eye and nodded grimly before briefly pointing to his pocket. Newt opened his mouth to interject but Nico had already gone off. Running. Sprinting. Whatever.

Newt stared at the boy a little longer as he made his rounds around the Glade with amazing grace. He ran with such familiarity, skill, and agility. Before he knew it, he had already run 19 rounds around the Glade, and he didnt seem to be nearing a stop yet. He tore his gaze from the boy and focused on the task at hand. He reached into his pocket and felt around for a piece of paper. It rustled slightly and for a second, Newt was afraid that the note was extremely brittle and that he would break it. He retreated back slowly into the shade before more gently taking out a tiny slip of paper. Newt squinted slightly at the tiny scrawling as he tried to decipher the odd lettering.

Meet at graveyard. See you there.

~Nico

Newt looked towards the graveyard and raised an eyebrow. Really? A note for just six words? Sure. Newt sighed and ambled over to the graveyard. He stared out to the place where Nico had been running and watched him leap elegantly over overgrown weeds and little stones. To the Gladers dismay, he stopped soon after and disappeared into the graveyard. Newt eyed him warily as he sat in front of him.

Nico was sitting cross-legged on the floor, fiddling idly with his fingers. Newt took in a sharp intake of the moist air and stopped. Nico's black eyes were rimmed red, a dangerous flame of blackfire ablaze, eating away at his sanity. Nico blinked once and looked up, careful to emit a slightly deathly scent, and motioned for Newt to sit in front of him.

It was a cold grey morning in late September. Darkened clouds rolled into the Glade like tides, the sudden change in weather sparked quite a shock from Newt. Just a few moments ago, Newt was sure the sun had been shining brightly. The lake nearby had thin ice frosted, swimming about, navigating its way through weeds and marine life. The Glade was definitely gloomier, and Newt had a feeling it was because of Nico. the Gladers seemed to notice this too and shielded their heads as they ran towards the nearest shelter.

That boy was creepy. The way he dressed, he talked, walked. Now, he looked at Newt with icy eyes, his face betraying no emotion. Black eyes met dark brown as the minutes passed and Newt was beginning to fidget boredly. He would not ask, however. That would be impolite.

"I think i finally know who i am, Newt, but i dont want to tell anybody." Nico spoke suddenly, breaking the awkward silence. This troubled Newt, Nico could tell. He had flinched, as though that statement was taboo. Nico guessed nobody had ever said that before. Nico himself knew he was weird, a freak, an outcast.

"Why not? Do you want to stay a 'Greenie' your whole life here?" Newt was incredulous.

Nico pursed his lips and frowned. "No. you see, i recall some of my past life, and i just have this feeling that revealing my true identity often landed me in some serious places. I can only trust you, Minho, and the new boy. Tell me, have i put my faith in the wrong people?" Nico grabbed Newt's arm with his, giving him a slight electric shock. His fingernails dug deep into his skin but he didnt care. Nico bore his eyes into Newt's. Newt winced, but didnt exactly protest. He nodded quickly then shoved Nico away.

"Dont grab me like that, can you?" Newt grumbled irritatedly. Nico looked rather sheepish but was satisfied. He somehow had this instinct not to tell too many about this; it seemed like it was in his blood to hide his true identity. He didnt know why, just not to. Nico stretched out his legs and leaned back against the log with both hands behind on the ground to support him. He looked lazily at Newt and he smirked.

"Come on, boy, dude. we need to go for midday meals, then, we need to test you out to see what you are good at. We need to give you a job fast. But, you havent yet told me who you are..." Newt chewed his lower lip in impatience. Nico was giving him the creeps. The way he wanted not to tell anybody about him seemed almost as if he had some sort of secret hiding behind that veil. Newt crossed his arms in annoyance, looking expectantly at the boy in front of him. Nico sighed. He knew this would come sooner or later. He stood up and surveyed the area, before leaning closely towards Newt. His voice dropped to a whisper, as his secret spilled out.

"The name's Nico. Nico di Angelo."


	4. Chapter 4

Nico opened his mouth in a silent scream as tears rolled down his cheek. The evil grin of the large man, etched in his mind. He clutched tightly at this sides of his hammock and gripped it. The searing pain of a deep gash was felt and Nico winced involuntarily. His eyes were squeezed shut as the never-ending trail of rivulets streamed down and dripped off the tip of his chin, falling like pearls from a broken necklace. Flashing images of the same emerald-eyed boy constantly flooded his every thought, and the man with the loincloth hurt his head. Haughty cackles filled his ears and the smells of dried blood wafted about in his nostrils. Suddenly, his eyes shot open and he sat up quickly, his heartbeat so fast it felt like a continuous buzz in his chest.

He woke up to yet another ridiculously sunny morning in the Glade and groaned silently as the sunlight pierced through his shut eyelids. He sleepily slapped his face to wake himself up and tilted his neck to the right and left, a continuous popping sound slowly following after. He idly swung his hammock side to side as a flock of owls flew over him. Owls rang a bell in his mind, he just couldnt remember why. He briefly wiped his crusted tears out of the corners of his eyes and took deep breaths to level his breathing. His face contorted with pain as the strangled beating of his heart clung harder onto his throat. He held back a choke of pain as the stabbing feeling increased by a notch. It...it was like a pair of strong arms tightening its iron grip around his chest, allowing only small ragged breaths to escape his throat. His lungs began to ache and his throat burned. But it was slowing. Slowly slowing.

After much time, his breathing was no longer as hitched, nor did he feel strangled anymore. He glanced again at the sky. It was not as glorious or bright anymore. He scowled to himself as he figured he probably spent around an hour or two to regain his normal breathing pace. What a waste of time. He fumbled about the surroundings for anything that felt familiar, but nope. He found nothing. Yep, he was still in the Glade, waking to do chores that absolutely did not aid him with his life. Nico sighed and stood light-headedly on his two feet. He soon regretted it. He nearly stumbled from the feeling of solid floor below his feet as he remembered the long fall into the dark bottomless pit of nothingness. He rested his weight with his hand on the support leg of the hammock and steadied himself. His legs nearly failed him as he staggered over to a shaded spot and took out a change of clothing he had been supplied with when in the moving box.

Once again, he changed into black sweatpants and a black sweater together with a pair of running shoes. As he put it on, he stole a glance at the cuts on his wrist. He knew the reason for it now, but he would never fall back to that old habit of his ever again. This Nico was strong, dauntless. He would not succumb to this act of cowardice. He took in the sickly fake scent of flowers and shook his head to rid the feeling of an imminent migraine. He groaned. He did not want to have to deal with that and no way he was going to tell any of the med-jacks just to be forced to take pills or whatever they would tell him to do. Nuh-uh. He scrunched up his nose just at the thought and prepared for a run. Just then, before he could even start, a high-pitched spine-chilling scream came from the forest. The screams came more often now, and it was definitely getting louder. His heart skipped a beat and he turned his head in the direction of the voice. He searched around for a bush of reasonable height and ducked behind it. Crouching, he crawled softly and cautiously towards the sound of the noise, careful to stay hidden behind the thick lot of organic growth. A rhythmic pounding of feet was heard and Nico was lucky he had detected it in time for had he not, he would have been tripped over by a panting Chuck. Nico was sprawled out on the ground but soon got up to his normal crouch. He turned around to spare a glance at the boy, despite knowing the dangers of loss of focus. And he most definitely did not know how he knew that. Chuck's face was one of pure terror, ashened from horror. Large orbs of sweat lined the back of his neck and his temples and his soaked shirt clung tightly to his figure. He was shaking involuntarily and he was barely even coherent. His hair was a disarray, not to mention his mental state of health.

"i-it's coming! Run...hurry!" Chuck choked out between pants before proceeding to run out into the open sunshine where he was slightly further from the forest. Nico stood there, unmoving, scrutinising the boy. What was he so scared about? It wasnt like there was actually anything running after him, hunting him down.

"What are you doing!? Get out here, it's coming any minute now!" Chuck turned and screamed at Nico, conveniently waking the rest of the sleeping Gladers. Nico shot the boy a glare that sent shivers down his spine. Chuck surrendered and left the brooding boy to his own thoughts. However, before Chuck could escape to safety properly, the 'thing' that had been chasing Chuck emerged from the forest.

Niico studied the 'thing' closely. It was vital when duelling against new monsters to know or anticipate what the rival was capable of. The creature was of average height, around the same as Nico himself, barely looking intimidating at all. To Nico at least. It was a bulbous, dark creature, with many appendages such as spikes, shears, and rods. It seemed to move in a forward roll making whirring and clicking sounds as it moved and the machinery inside of it caused a constant reflectance of light, making Nico squint at the sight.

He warily walked towards it, completely ignoring Chuck's screams and warnings. He eyed the creature head to toe repeatedly so as to make sure he had not missed out on any important details. So far, nothing new. The creature stared at him suspiciously at Nico danced past it and prepared for attack. The whirring got louder and louder and Nico was just about to cover his ears and curl into a foetal position when it stopped. Nico glared defiantly at the enemy, his fatigue perfect masked up with a blank expression that betrayed nothing.

Nico was tired, and exhausted. He had not slept well that night and was not sure if he could pull this off. Whatever, he was about to do, that is. The light breeze in the air flew through the locks in his hair and suddenly, he felt invincible. He slowly unsheathed a secret knife he had kept at his rear pocket and wiped the sweat forming at his brow. He faintly heard Chuck in the background yelling at the Gladers to get out and watch the impending battle. Nico cracked a small smile as the nerves left and the odd familiarity of this position flooded back to him. He had done this multiple times before, he knew. The enemy had no chance against him; it was way too heavy to be agile and swift. Speed was to be used to his advantage. Agility, speed, skill.

Nico swept his knife below the creatures body and skillfully dodged its attempt at jabbing his gut. Nico caught sight of a new detail he had somehow failed to notice before; the appendages were sharp and pointed, seemingly to be used for pricking opponents. Nico guessed that when that creature, whatever it was, stung a person, there were dire consequences. Consequences he would not want to find out.

The monster took advantage of this slight hesitation to lunge at Nico with one of its stingers and Nico instinctively stepped back into the shadows. This was when fear gripped him. He was trapped in a dark shadowy place going at 100mi/h and his face felt like it was peeling off. He flailed his arms about as fingers of the underworld reached out to pull him in. But he calmed down, when a memory came back. He had done this before too. He recalled loving it too.

Shadow-travelling

The word echoed in his mind. That's right! He used this method of transportation often to get him to places quick. Shadow-travelling. He just needed to think hard about the place he wanted to land. Nico pursed his lips tightly as he screamed the phrase 'behind the monster!' loudly in his brain. He opened his eyes, and suddenly, he was no longer in front of it, but rather, a foot behind it. Nico resisted the urge to just raise his leg and attack the enemy's in between and instead ran his knife cleanly through its body, easily puncturing its back. The creature let out a whimper of something somewhere between confusion and hurt. It soon after gave a roar of outrage as it disappeared into a cloud of golden dust, meanwhile burying Nico layers underneath its remains

Now relieved that it was over, Nico turned around to face the blonde blue-eyed boy he remembered recently as Will and saw him, bow upright, arrow drawn. He had slung a bag full of arrows made from the purest sparks of sunlight and the wind chose that perfect moment to release its pent in energy, causing everyone but Will and Nico to turn away from the harsh wind. Nico recognised that same position where Will stood like the hottest boy on Earth. Pushing away those feelings, he now focused on his low energy levels. Nico looked faintly surprised and fairly weary as he placed a hand on Will's warm arm to lower his bow, telling him it was all over.

Nico lay stretched on the grassy pane, calmly observing his quick breath slow, occasionally swatting away a disturbing fly. The crowd did not disperse, but stared at him as he idly eyed the passing birds and smiling whenever a petal landed on his nose. Then, he suddenly sat up. During the battle, something had happened. He would not deny it. The thing with the shadows...what was that again? Ah, yes, shadow-travelling. His eyebrows furrowed into a barely noticeable frown as he rested his chin on his fist thoughtfully. He sat in that position, unmoving, until he heard a muffled gasp come from somewhere within the crowd. He briskly stood up and made his way to the source of the gasp.

Nico ignored the stares and befuddled looks on the Gladers faces and feebly pushed past them to Minho, who was obviously shaken by the whole event. He still somehow managed to keep his hot demeanour despite his pale and blood-drained face, to which Nico mentally facepalmed. Thinking about boys again? Not normal. Stop it. Besides...Will was hotter. Wait what-? Ew. nevermind. Just stop it. STOP IT. You need serious help, di Angelo. Later. Now. Never. Nico hit his head hard to stop those disturbing thoughts and willed his gaze to the Glader he had come to look for.

Nico directed his attention to the boy...or boys. Minho and Newt, who had been incidentally by his side whispering another of their private conversations, now kept their shaken expressions skillfully hidden behind a mask of neutrality. Nico hypothesised that they had done this many times before, or maybe never, and hence, beginners luck. Nico saw the overly intense stare of the Asian boy and quickly changed his mind. Nope, just beginners luck. Newt stepped in front of Minho, and put his hands on the alarmingly freezing boy, nearly flinching as he did so. Nico would have flinched too, if he had not anticipated what was to come. Nico's mouth parted into a signature wild grin as he heard the words he had been waiting so earnestly for. Newt sighed deeply as the words were exchanged.

"Nico, you're gonna make a hella good runner."


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: one line of swearing

Nico listened as Minho droned on and on monotonously about the maze and as Newt occasionally dropped an additional detail. They were both introducing him to the complex architecture of the maze and its ways but Nico had an unsurprisingly short attention span. Nico had basically zoned out after the first 5 minutes of the talk and pretended to be extremely focused on what he was talking about when he was actually just staring at a spot right behind Minho's left ear where a bird was about to fly over the maze. It had huge majestic glorious wings and a long caramel coloured beak that glowed in the sunshine. Artificial sunshine, Nico emphasised in his mind. Its sleek black feathers were unusually neat, as though it had once been combed and its claws looked metallic. It was cruising slowly, but just as it was about to fly above the wall, it stopped, and in a robotic motion, it turned exactly 180° to face the back and continue its slow, unhurried flying. Nico turned his attention to slightly to Newt's right and observed as multiple identical birds did the exact same thing. He eyed the creatures closely, zooming in on every inch of their bodies. There seemed to be almost something like an invisible border above the walls where they could not cross in the Glade, and that captivated him. Why didnt they just fly overthough?

"...and that's pretty much all we have for you...Nico? Nico?" Minho snapped his fingers repeatedly directly in front of Nico's face to get his attention. Nico gave a slight grunt as acknowledgement before getting out of his trance to face the duo. He blankly stared at them and waited for them to continue speaking but then saw another bird do the same thing to his right and turned towards it just as it was about to fly over. Nope. No such luck.

"Great. Now we have to repeat that all over again." Minho muttered hotly, thinking that Nico wouldnt be able to hear. Newt urgently nudged Minho in the gut and hit his head hard. Nico raised an eyebrow at this little act of annoyance and sighed mirthlessly. He shook his head and stood up, gesturing for them too. Looking at each other in confusion, Newt and Minho frowned.

"Yea, well, sorry mate but we are not bringing an inexperienced runner into the maze without any proper knowledge." Minho informed him, slightly irritated that the boy had not been listening. Nico didnt notice tha

"No. actually, i know what information you are going to tell me. That we have to jot down patterns of the maze, run around, dont get caught, dont fight Grievers, stay with you, dont get lost...all that shit. I already know that. Basically, before you were going to feed me with that obvious crap, i had thought of a plan. The plan is to simply...get on with it. The best way to learn is to have a first-hand experience with it. Duh." Nico cut in. He wasnt the least bit afraid or nervous about going in. Rather, he was excited, blood rushing through his veins like electricity coursing through a wire. But he was not to go today, he knew. The maze would be sealing its exits anytime now and he did not want to be stuck there the first time he entered. Nope, bad idea. He had been resting the last few days after the monster he knew as a Griever attacked Chuck. He was required to regain his strength and hence, given permission to not do anything for now. He stood up and brushed off his pants, leaving Newt and Minho to stare wordlessly at his retreating figure.

Newt eyed the boy, slight frustration building up quickly, though he swiftly dispersed it. Sure, he was lazy as f*** but when he got down to work, he actually did it well. Like, really well. The amount of information he had in him was marvellously much and beyond the combined knowledge of Newt and Minho together. Where he got this kind of information? They had no idea. His attention span though was...concerning. Newt could deal with it, as long as he knew what to do later. But Minho…Newt had a feeling his patience was wearing thin, or otherwise, Minho could just be exhausted from having to deal with two new boys. Newt just wished that Nico would listen to him and Minho so as to not miss out on anything in particular that was extremely important. Not that Newt didnt trust Nico to catch anything, just allowing the option. Nico was rather nimble and alert, Newt could tell. The way he fended off the Griever was a great example. Though a foolish act, it fully captured his bravery and quick-thinking in a time of crisis. But Newt didnt miss out on the part where Nico abruptlyx appeared behind the Griever. He seemed to be the only one who noticed it though, along with Minho. Which was rather weird, but he pushed it aside as a thing that most didnt notice due to the fact that Chuck was still in danger's zone. Or perhaps it was just a trick of the light. So so far, Nico was nimble, agile, quick, brave, intelligent, loyal. Okay good. Perfect to be a runner. Newt smiled, worry underlying the expression. What if he chose wrong? No. It was not possible. Nico was ideal, and he knew it, despite how much Newt wished he wasnt. He didnt want anymore deaths because of it. Nico was already so perfect, outside and inside; they didnt need to lose someone this flawless. The society could do with more of such capable Gladers, and deal with less losses of such. Maybe then the Gladers would find a way out of the Glade quicker, maybe even in the near future! Newt almost laughed aloud at the absurdity of the thought. After all, they had spent already three years there and yet, nothing! Unlike what many probably thought at this moment, Newt was perfectly straight. Interested in girls. Full stop. He didnt like Nico in that way. As a friend, aquaintance...maybe. Nico didnt seem to notice any of this though; he was too busy walking towards a certain boy in the infirmary. A blond boy with blue eyes, to be exact. (raises suggestive eyebrows)

Nico walked over to Will, who happened to be doing some doctor-related work. Nico liked the warmth of his hand, he suddenly recalled. Will, over the past few days, had also incidentally remembered their past. Their past. Their relationship. But not that they were demigods (A/N: im saying this as in third person perspective btw). They had not yet told anybody about it, for fear of being ostracised, but maintained the relationship secretly. Every night, Will would go to Nico and kiss him goodnight then leave for the hammock next to him, where he would sleep. The following morning, with the exception of that very day and the days before they remembered, the italian would wake up before the sun rose and wrap his ice cold arms around Will's neck and wake him up with a slight peck on the forehead. It was an deed done early in the morning, so as of now, Nico had never been caught in the act. Now, Nico watched as his boyfriend cared for Chuck's swollen eye and gingerly placed an ice-pack on his shut eyelid. Nico cleared his throat and leaned against a nearby pillar, smiling wryly at the blond.

Will lips parted into a dazzling smile and stood up, sending Chuck off with his last instructions. Nico could almost see a smile grin working its way into Chuck's face just as he was leaving and Nico flushed a deep shade of red. Once gone, Nico tentatively laced his fingers around Will's and Will carefully snaked an arm around Nico's waist and the other behind the top of his head. They locked their eyes in mutual affection and suddenly, Will's lips were on his. Nico lightly pulled Will in closer and flipped positions such that now Will was against the wall. Nico sighed into Will's neck and sent chills down his spine. Will kissed more forcefully now and gripped Nico's hair tighter while Nico slowly wrapped an arm around Will's torso. They stayed like that, Nico's head on Will's chest, listening to its rhythmic thumping. Will's chin was nestled perfectly on Nico's tufts of hair, unmoving for a few minutes then Nico pulled away and looked up to Will, much to Will's dismay.

"Will? Do you feel something off about our past? Not like us, but like, why are the rest of our lives blocked out and some memories are cut off at a certain point?" Nico queried. He wasnt frightened of course; he was hardly ever scared. Nico was simply curious. Will swatted that question away and leaned in again for their lips to connect. Nico didnt resist, but sighed into Will's lips.

"Will…" Will pouted and folded his arms across his chest, then shrugged flippantly. "I dont know. I guess its weird but maybe clue will come soon? I mean, its just been a week since we came. Also, its not like its some really important thing, you know. As of now, you and i are still adapting to the Gladers' ways an-" Will was cut off by a loud rumbling sound that was creepily familiar. The box. They both snapped their head in the direction of the noise in unison and Nico gave Will one last long kiss full on the lips and turning his utmost attention to the box. Somebody new was coming. Nico's heart fluttered with anticipation. Dragging Will by the waist, Nico raced to the box like the other Gladers, who were rather confused. After all, they had not expected another boy to be appearing so quickly especially since two had just appeared a week ago. Nico shook his head at this. This was nothing to be surprised by, since the past few days he had been waking to some seriously queer happenings. A new boy arriving now seemed like a pint next to the enormous amount of incidents from the past few days. But Will was there, and that was enough for him. He was content. He had Will to hold and kiss and to pour out all his woes to. He smiled despite himself. Will made him smile often, always knowing exactly what to say to make that brooding teen grin. Nico smiled again.

He reached the crowd and let go of Will, upsetting him greatly. Will lunged at him to grab his arm and pull him back but missed by an inch. Nico shot him an apologetic smile and pecked his cheek just as he pushed to the front of the source of attention. Loud excited chatterings resounded in his eardrums and there were murmurings accompanied with low whispers, for there, in the middle of the box, lay a boy.

Though sitting on the rusty metal base, Nico could already tell he was at least 6'0". He was a very handsome young man, perhaps a teen, with disheveled, jet black hair, swept to one side as if he just gotten a walk to the beach. Inquisitive bright sea-green eyes complemented his tan, "Mediterranean" complexion that layered his similar-to-Nico's athletic build. He had a sarcastic, troublemaker smile plastered on his face despite his obvious confusion. Nico suddenly felt light-headed and fell to the floor, barely making a sound as he attempted to scramble away, furiously shaking his head, hot tears brimming his eyes. couldnt be him. No. The boy peered up at Nico and a gut-churning scream ripped from Nico's parched throat. He pointed a shaking middle finger at the ignorant boy, collapsing to the ground like the emerald-eyed boy in his dreams did. Will emerged from the crowd and leapt forward to catch Nico before he fell to no avail. Only one last thought rang in Nico's mind, reverberating throughout his last bit of consciousness.

"Jackson, you mother-fucking bitch."


	6. Chapter 6

Will leapt at Nico and attempted to reach him before he blacked out. Attempted. Shoving people out of his way and ignoring the glares of certain Gladers, Will clambered over to Nico’s side and gingerly picked him up, cradling him gently in his arms. The ghost of a smile played lightly at the unconscious boy’s lips and Will couldnt help but sigh at the angelic features of him while ambling over to the nearest open area. When asleep, his perpetual frown was non-existent and his compelling magnetic sweeping eyelashes brushed softly across his crystal clear skin. His shaggy black hair reached the bridge of his nose, the longest strand reaching his lips...his lips...they were a creamy soft shade of pink, parted slightly, the softest most velvety contours Will had ever glanced upon. He resisted the impulse to just forget everything and kiss this innocent boy right then and instead daintily lowered him to the ground. Nico showed no signs at all of awakening. He absentmindedly took a cloth out from his sling bag and poured a slight amount of water into the cloth to dampen it. Will then began to think about the dark-haired green-eyed boy. Will had gotten a certain vibe from him, a vibe that emitted power, immense power, the sort of vibe he often got from Nico. But it was slightly different with Nico. Nico’s vibe gave off a dark shadowy aura and Will, Newt and Minho could swear that the temperature always dropped when the italian entered an enclosed area. Grass had turned a tone darker and the Glade seemed to have lost its original vibrance. But with this new boy, Jackson, as Nico had identified him, Will felt a different scent of power. While Will knew Nico to be more powerful, Will couldnt ignore the fact that Jackson was too. Will could see the hardened eyes of the boy and the smile on his face seemed strained, as if he had done it too many times before. Now, Will could faintly hear the Gladers reach into the box to help the boy up. Will turned his body to face Nico fully, and put the damp towel on his forehead to wipe of the cold sweat. Subconsciously, he began to hum a soft song. It was a lovely dark tune, melodious and beautiful. Like Nico. Will shut his eyes and swayed right to left, left to right. The humming never stopped, only getting more passionate with each passing second. He was too caught up in the tempo of the song that he had not noticed the warm glow of his hands and the growing crowd surrounding him. Will peeled open an eyelid and turned to the crowd. 

“What is it?” He asked, remembering to soften his tone. He didnt want the Gladers to think of him as an aggresive person, mostly because he was not and also because the only reason he had snapped was for Nico The Gladers didnt answer, but mutterings and mumblings could be heard.

“Look. Im sorry about my previous impulsive actions okay but there really isnt a need to all gather here to watch me care for Ni- i mean, my patient.” Will faltered a bit, recalling what Nico had said about not wanting others to know his name. but then Chuck piqued.

“N-no. Not that. I-i mean we a-are talking a-about your patient.” Chuck said shakily while pointing a trembling finger at the boy. Will tilted his head and frowned. He turned around, ready to question Chuck about his sanity when he gasped, a sharp intake of breath sucked in from astonishment. There lay the pale boy, or once pale boy. He was emitting a light golden glow and was hovering slightly above ground level. The source of light was traced to Will’s hand, which was touching the unconscious Nico softly. Will gaped open-mouthed. What was he doing? Will followed the line of light again and saw that the lines were leading to Nico’s wrists. Will, keeping his palm on Nico’s fingers, carefully pushed up the sleeves of his. Will almost choked (on nothing at all) when he saw those painfully thin wrists. Most prominently were the words Bianca and...the name Will? What was his name doing there? What had he done? But those were not all. As a whole, the hand looked ravaged, mutilated, almost not human at all. There were probably around a thousand, on that one small arm. Forearm, to be exact. Some looked like they were through injuries, multiple stitches, fading scars. But others...gods they were small and shallow, so faint Will almost could not see them, but yet there they were. Still there. The arm was still healing though, at a scarily rapid speed. With each second, about ten cuts were had gone from red to a light shade of beige. It was still there, just not as noticeable. After a whole ten minutes, the scars were faded but had left its own mark. Despite all being closed up and smooth, his forearm was littered with tiny short beige lines to large once-deep gashes. Will could hear several muffled gasps and horrified murmurings among the Gladers but he chose to ignore them. He needed to wake Nico to hear what he had to say about that. 

Careful so as to not inconvenience Nico, Will began to lightly shake his arm and call out to him. There was no audible response. Will began to panic slightly. What if Nico were to be unconscious for days, or perhaps even weeks! Will began to more urgently shake the boy and failed to notice that Nico had already come to.

“What the fuck, Solace? Stop it.” Nico grumbled slightly and began to push himself up from the ground. Then, he caught sight of the boy. He was now up and standing, taking in the fresh sights of the Glade. Bubbles of hatred foamed inside of him but he quickly doused them. He calmly walked over to the boy and crossed his arms.

“What are you doing here, Percy? Here to side against me? Again?” Nico said trying a mean tone but he knew it wasnt convincing. He just couldnt find it in him to hate another person, try hard as he might. He didnt even properly remember this boy, only fragments of him, when he was siding with the loincloth giant, watching the emerald-eyed boy, which he now knew as Harry, die. He tried again to light the flame of hatred toward this boy. But oh, he looked so pitiful. Lost, confused, tired, lonely, isolated. But yet he looked happy, contented. Nico looked into the eyes of Percy, seeing the shattered eyes that mirrored his own. He never thought he would say this, but he felt his hurt. He wanted to relieve him of his pain, relieve everyone of their pain. He wanted everyone he knew to live a good life, fulfilling life. His gaze softened. 

“I know you’re Percy. What are you doing here?” Percy tilted his head. He opened his mouth to answer but shut it again quickly. He frowned and idly scratched the back of his head.

“I...i dont know.” He replied tersely. Nico nodded with grim understanding. He himself didnt know much, what could he expect? But yet, this sense of familiarity reached out to Nico. A familiar vibe. Percy stuffed his hands into his pockets and flapped his sleeves about childishly. Nico sighed but without annoyance. He watched over the boy as if he were a parent carefully studying his child. Funny. Something about the blue seals on his jacket clicked in his mind but he couldnt place it. Nico shrugged it off. He knew to let nature take its course especially after the past week’s events. 

A memory randomly popped up in his mind.

“Only have a month to save him…” butterflies fluttered anxiously in his stomach. Could it be? What was he supposed to do? Save Harry? Who was he to him anyway? Why would he risk his life for him? A million questions bombarded his head and he rubbed his temples soothingly. He glanced back to Percy. He had slowed his sleeve-flapping, but had not stopped. Nico could not contain a small smile. 

A small piece of paper dropped from a pocket of the jacket, and many tiny similar pieces soon followed. Percy stopped flapping his sleeves and looked at it attentively as though he was studying a peculiar diamond. It all fell like confetti from the pocket and for a second, Nico could only stare mesmerised. The paper continued falling, for about a whole ten seconds. Nico was dumbfounded, then snapped out of it and willed his hands to gather and catch the slips of paper. While collecting them though, he found tiny inscriptions and markings on them, possibly forming a word, sentence, or perhaps, a message! Nico’s eyes lit up at the thought and moved more swiftly.

Will bent down to pick up the paper and stared at it quizzically when he found that some of the slips had his name and Nico’s name on, along with a few like Harry, Ouranos and Hades. Who were these people? Will pushed that question away as of now. He wanted to know what the message was all about. This could be a clue as to how to escape the maze!

At last, all the confetti slips were collected and with the help of Minho and Newt, were brought to the homestead to piece together the slips and figure out the meaning of the message. 

Nico picked up a piece of paper and felt a weird aura emitting from it. It tingled in his hands, perhaps as a warning for what was to come. In a second, the slip flew from his hands and began to twirl conspicuously in the air. Other slips of paper soon joined in the dance, swirling and twirling about. It was a slow process, but Nico could already see it coming together. But it was only after a whole minute that one corner of the full message was formed.

After what seemed like hours, a rather messy but readable message was collated. Nico was pushed to the front to read out the message for the other four boys in the group. He protested but quickly realised that he had no say in it.

Nico couldnt resist muttering, “And they say this is a democracy.” Newt heard this and the corners of his lips twitched into a smile. Sending a half-hearted glare in his direction, Newt cleared his throat and Nico finally submitted to his fate.

With an exaggerated sigh, Nico read, getting more and more confused as he did.

Hello Nico, Percy and Will,

I am Hades, your father, a god. Greek god. After reading this letter, your memories should return. Remember. You only have three weeks left to escape the Glade to rescue Harry. If the spell doesnt work, here is the gist of what happened before you were sent into the Glade.

So Nico and Will, you two went to Hogwarts, a wizarding school that teaches magic. You were not sent on a quest, though it somehow became so. You two met Harry, and together, you three thought of a plan to defeat the perdominal greek god of the sky. You two did not know this, but Percy was on the opposing side, with his girlfriend’s life on the line. Nico, you forgave Percy and in the end, Percy, Nico and Will fought against Ouranos. But sadly, in the process of doing so, Harry sacrificed himself in the hope that you would win. But Nico, you knew that this death came too early, and wanted to bring him back. So you did. But to do that, you had to navigate your way through one of Daedelus’ abandoned labyrinths, the Glade. You and Will were the first two demigods to be sent in, and to blend with the rest, we had no choice but to dip you in the river Lethe, which you agreed to, by the way. I saw from my palace that you were struggling, so i sent Percy in too, with this letter. 

It is very hard to get out alive, so i have gone against Zeus’ will to give you a clue. Listen, you must embrace your differences. Dont try to blend in. it is your abilities that will ultimately set you apart. 

Yours sincerely,  
Hades 

Nico suddenly felt a rush of blood flow into his mind and everything flooded back; the memories, the feelings, relationships, everything. He looked at Will and Percy and smiled for the first time. They looked back at him and in an instant, Will pulled him close and whispered lovingly,

“It’s good to have you back, Sunshine.” Nico threw his arms around Will’s neck and looked deeply into the latter’s eyes. Will bent slightly and pecked Nico’s forehead. A coy smile spread across the son of Hades’ face and he whispered into Will’s ear,

“You too, Solace.”


	7. Chapter 7

Nico looked at Will now, heart full of happiness. At last, he finally remembered his very own love. His sunshine. He held that gaze, and felt the irresistible urge to glance at him every few seconds. Life where he did not remember Will seemed so aimless, pointless, meaningless. Unable to contain himself, Nico embraced Will in a bone-crunching hug and sobbed silently into his chest. His long dainty fingers gripped the fabric of Will’s shirt tightly and his head rested perfectly into the soft folds of his shirt. Will was slightly startled but quickly got over his initial shock and ruffled Nico’s hair softly. Percy looked at them awkwardly, wanting to join in the embrace but yet did not want to spoil this moment. Nico finally pulled away and took Will by the hand, intertwining them, setting their relationship permanently. The light breeze exhaled briefly through Nico’s hair and he shut his eyes. For the first time since entering the Glade, he felt true peace and calm. But not for long. 

Nico pulled back. He looked around at the same three other people around them gaping at them as though they were crazy. Well, mostly just Minho and Newt. No wonder he had that absolutely weird half-hearted breakup letter didnt work on Will. Percy grinned wildly and made kissing sounds behind their back. Nico sent a death glare in his direction and he promptly shut up. Nico smirked.

“Glad to know my powers still work.” Percy gulped and but that overzealous grin on. Nico facepalmed. Percy just didnt seem to get the fact that Nico wanted him to shut up. 

“Lo giuro, il dito medio sarà presto usato.” Nico muttered unhappily. Percy smiled.

“Awww. i know you love me too.” Percy cooed, then put a finger under his chin thoughtfully. “Wait no. That spot’s already taken, hmmm?” Nico scowled.

“Damn right it is.” Nico said then flushed a deep shade of red. 

“Is that Death Boy blushing? I wonder....” Percy playfully nudged Nico on the shoulder. Nico felt something pop in his head and he abruptly turned around and twisted Percy’s arm then pushed it against his back. Percy gasped for air.

“Okay okay! Got the point! Release me, bitch!” Nico scoffed and let go of him, completely ignoring the fact that Percy’s elbow and shoulder had turned rather purple. Walking with an exaggerated bounce in his step, Nico beckoned the other three to the map room. Minho and Newt stared at each other, bemused, and confusedly followed the italian. 

Once all inside the map room, including Percy, Nico plopped into a large armchair. Rather amused by his lax attitude, the others sat down in a more civilised manner and waited for Nico to explain to them why they were there.

“Okay Newt, i need you to explain to this dumb twat here how the Glade works while me, Will and Minho find a way to escape this maze.” Newt nodded agreeably and turned to the boy. Percy, to Newt, seemed like an easygoing boy who was easy to get along with.

“Ok so the Glade works like…” Newt began to explain but Percy swiftly cut him off.

“You’re forgetting that i’ve got the memories back and my dad had also explained this to me before soo…”

“Ahhh...okay then.” Newt replied, sipping a drink then scrunching up his face in disgust. Damn it was sweet like hell. Wait what? Hell wasnt sweet. That was weird. Percy piped up.

“Okay! Let’s go tell Nico then.” Newt looked unsure.

“ But actually, i myself have several questions for you.” Newt said.

“About Nico? Ye Will is Nico’s so you’d better not even think about it.” Percy warned jokingly. As if on cue, both of them turned to Nico and Will. Nico was sitting on Will’s lap, idly drawing circles on his thighs. Will was resting his head on Nico’s shoulder and every so often, Nico would turn around and pat his hair.

“Nico was so strong, so brave, so fragile, yet unbreakable. Nico was the embodiment of darkness, yet he brought light. he was the master of death, yet he refused to die. He was so isolated, yet so emotional. Whole and broken at once. I was so happy when he found friends, someone who could look out for him.” Percy said quietly, almost to himself. “He had to deal with his sister's death alone, discover his true father alone and he went through tartarus alone. Even my girlfriend, Annabeth, said that if she was in tartarus without me, she would have curled up and cried until she melted into the cocytus. And mind you, she’s pretty brave.” Percy said to Newt.

Newt tilted his head in confusion. Percy sighed. “Let me start from the beginning, yeah? Okay so basically, the Greek Gods, well...they exist. Zeus, Poseidon, Hades...you get it. When Nico was young, Lord Zeus wanted to kill Nico and his family in a fit and Lord Hades, Nico’s godly parent, was only able to save him and his sister Bianca. Then, we found Nico and Bianca in a school and tried to bring them to a safe camp for us demigods. Demigods are the offspring between a god and a mortal. Anyway, the Hunters of Artemis, a girl group of huntresses who serve Lady Artemis, offered to give Bianca eternal life if she joined them and she did, but she was to swear off boys. She did of course and after, when we reached camp, we were sent on a quest. Bianca, to get something for Nico, died, leaving Nico as the sole alive child of Hades. The reason Hades’ children are so rare is because the Big Three, Poseidon, Zeus and Hades made an oath not to have any children. The only reason Nico is even alive is because he was hidden in a time capsule sorta thing where time seems slower and is like, warped. So technically, Nico is around eighty this year, so dont call him ‘young man’. The last time i did that, i got my nose crooked.” 

Sensing Newt’s discomfort, he hurriedly carried on. “Then, he fell into Tartarus. Hell, basically. We eventually saved him, but he was never the same after that. Then, he found Will and...stuff happened.” Newt let out a low chuckle despite himself. Sure, stuff happened. 

Percy didnt stop. “Nico is actually a really nice guy. He is pretty much a god without the eternal life part. He’s perfect as a person. He’s like, so good in every aspect. If not for my ego, i would call him the hottest and most powerful guy at camp with all his powers and abilities. He is really talented too. He is good at everything, like how he is very good at convincing, bla bla bla. Actually, if not for his convincing skills, my girlfriend and i would probably be dead right now.” Percy laughed to himself, remembering the time where Bob had said that Nico convinced him, saying that Percy was his friend. The laugh turned rather forced towards the end, as he recalled the many times he had been saved by Nico. this young italian really did not deserve to have to go through such horrid experiences. He was truly unfairly treated.

“Are you sure you’re not the one who has a crush on him?” Newt teased. Percy raised an eyebrow and lightly hit Newt. “i have a girlfriend, dude!” Newt shrugged and surrendered. 

Nico look towards them just as they said it and frowned, staring questioningly at the two sheepishly red boys with raised eyebrows.

“Boys will be boys…” Nico muttered to himself and exhaled heavily. Those two complete assholes would never grow up, it seemed. Nico shook his head and rubbed Will’s thighs, signalling for him to let him down. Will smiled and obliged, swinging his legs over to let Nico slide down. Nico resisted the urge to turn and peck his cheek but instead went up to the son of Poseidon and the Glader.

“Hey, Nico! I just heard from Percy here that you are the son of Hades...and i was wondering...what can you do being one?” Nico sent a death glare in Percy’s direction.

“Lil bitch.” Nico snarled at Percy, then turned to Newt. “i dont think i need to have any abilities to be a demigod.”

Newt ignored the tone of his voice. “But Percy said you do!” Newt insisted.

Nico lowered the temperature a few noticeable degrees and Minho turned to Nico. “Really, Nico? Must you really flex to us non-demigods?” Minho joked with mock hurt.

“Shut it, Minho.” Nico folded his thin arms across his chest, arms moving in sync with the little heaving of his chest. “Fine. i do have abilities. What do you want to know?” Nico relented slightly.

Newt pounced. “Can you show the rest of the Gladers too? It’s more fair that way.” Nico nodded tentatively and waited for Newt to respond. 

Newt beamed. “Okay. Now lets go out there to show off some bloody good skills!” Newt said rather over-enthusiastically. Minho gave Newt a bewildered look and turned to Percy accusingly as though he had killed his friend. Nico looked over to Percy.

“Did you feed him some sugar or something? He isnt usually this high.” Nico groaned when Percy answered with a dignified nod.

“Indeed Prince of Shadows. I may or may not have spiked his drink a bit with Leo’s new auto-refillable sugar bag.” Nico pouted unhappily. A hyped up Percy was already more than Nico could handle. Now Newt? A usually super responsible dude? Nononononononononononono… Nico could practically hear Thanatos waiting for his imminent death. Thanatos’ chuckles reverberated in his head.

Nico sighed and walked out into the sunshine. Once out of the familiar surroundings of darkness, Nico shielded his eyes from the glaring ball of blazing heat.

“Guys GATHER! Nico here, yeshisnameisNico, is gonna show yall bloody lucky Gladers some sweet demigod abilities.” Newt went on to explain the current situation and everyone nodded in acknowledgement. 

“Nico, its all on you now.” Newt smiled broadly and stepped back. From the corner of his eye, Nico could see Newt nudging Minho in the ribs looking proud with himself. Nico couldnt help but smile. Newt was just so childish sometimes. Wait no, it was the sugar. Nevermind. 

“Um, hi? Im Nico and like Newt said, im gonna show you some stuff that i can do…” Nico started out awkwardly.

“So i know this doesnt really matter but like my two other demigod friends here, i have ADHD and dyslexia so you cant really expect a long attention span from me.” A Glader muttered softly under his breath.

“I would willingly supplement your short attention span.” Nico flushed a deep shade of red and stumbled over his words.

“Uh..sure. But no, im taken.” The Glader looked so sad Nico felt like taking it back but he could see Will grinning shyly behind him. Nico coughed.

“Yea well i also speak around fifteen to sixteen languages so dont mind me cursing in other languages.” The Gladers looked genuinely astounded and Percy chirped.

“He has an extremely high tolerance for pain and great willpower. Dont even think about trying to hurt him; he cant..though emotionally he may be.” Percy turned beet red at the last part, realising he had said it aloud. Nico raged.

“That’s it, Jackson. Will, curse him to speak in rhymes for the next few hours but not too long because i still need some input from him.” Will chuckled. He stepped to the front of Percy and snapped his fingers before his eyes. Percy’s eyes now gleamed with a slight tinge of gold, which contrasted greatly with the paleness of his cheeks.

“What have i done, to make this child of the Sun, treat me with such contempt, something that cannot be handled by a grown man?” Percy quickly shut his mouth, but the words flew right out.

“What did you do, and how long more till this is due?” Percy pleaded.

“Up till i feel ‘tis enough. But for now, shut up.” Nico snapped. The Gladers gasped at this ability to curse others and promptly stopped all chatter. Nico noted this and shook his head.

“Anyway, as i was saying...”

Nico smirked as he heard the whimpers of a cursed boy in the background then set his face straight again. 

That was likely to be the worst two hours ever for that darn son of the seas.  
_

Minho rummaged about the lower drawer. Frowning when he couldnt find it, he searched the drawer directly above it. He nearly tore out his hear when the paper was not there. Nico could already hear the annoyance in his voice and wisely backed away. An angry Minho was something he did not want to deal with. Not right after Percy yelled at him after his curse wore off and when Newt was back to normal. 

“Hey,” Nico started. “Is there any alternative way we can take to escape the maze?” Minho sighed, to Nico’s relief. He sorta had an inkling that Minho would just snap and tell Nico to shut up.

“Well...there are. Just that we’ve tried them and it doesnt work.” Minho shook his head sadly and returned to his rummaging.

“Have you tried climbing to the top of the walls then seeing and observing the pattern?”

“Yes.” Minho replied without even looking up. Nico opened his mouth to speak but Minho beat him to it.

“Three times.” Nico shut his mouth, only to open it seconds later.

“Okay sure. But just to be sure, can i go up there to have a look?” Minho hesitated for a moment, then nodded reluctantly. He was rather afraid that Nico would lose his balance and fall, never to awake again. Minho shuddered even at the thought.

Nico ran to the maze wall and began climbing, earning a few questioning glances from Gladers. But then again, the only reason there were only a few glances was because pretty much everyone knew what an oddball Nico was. Will peeked out from behind a cupboard in the infirmary and gasped when he saw that Nico was already two-thirds up the wall. Flailing his arms about to get Nico’s attention, he looked about for Percy.

“PERCY! WHERE ARE YOU!?” Will screamed, only to find Percy staring at the climbing figure. Will promptly stepped next to him and sent a slap across his back. Percy yelped and rubbed his back in irritation.

“What the fuck, Solace? Im trying to keep a lookout for your dear boyfriend!” Percy hissed.

Will scowled. “You’re letting him climb a wall without any form of safety measure or harnesses.” Percy looked sheepish.

“About that...Nico wanted to find a way out of here.” Will shrugged, as if to say ‘so what’.

“That means that he will stop at nothing to get us all outta here alive. Emphasis on ‘nothing’, ‘all’, and ‘alive’.” Will’s jaw dropped.

“That’s practically impossible! I mean, sure, its a nice thought but realistically!? Look around, Percy. There are like a thousand people here!” Percy raised an eyebrow.

“Im pretty sure there’s no more than fifty. And you know your boyfriend best. When he says something, he means it. Well, the only reason we demigods are here is cos Nico vowed to get Harry back.” 

Will turned his attention back to the boy who was now only about five feet from the top, but for some odd reason, he couldnt seem to get past it. Nico stopped and frowned. He poked at a cloud in the sky and to Nico’s horror, the cloud felt exactly like styrofoam. He prodded it harder, and at last, it gave way. It broke into two identical pieces and floated about robotically. Nico pursed his lips. He needed to inform the others about this quick. He looked down to the ground for the first time since he embarked on this treacherous climb. 

A falling figure caught his eye. The boy was falling from about ten feet in the air. He looked more closely. It was Chuck! Shit! Nico panicked then finally let his instincts take over. He let go of the rock he was clutching on to and felt himself fall. At the last second, he found a shadow in the distance and pulled it towards him, falling into the abyss. 

He reappeared below Chuck and held his hands up above him to support the oncoming weight of the being. Chuck shut his eyes and screamed in fear, resulting in Gladers gaping at him. Will, who had seen Nico shadow-travel just seconds before collision, heaved a sigh of relief when he heard the ear-splitting shriek. He whipped around and his heart skipped a beat. There his beautiful boyfriend was, ready to bear the brunt of the weight of a boy nearly twice the weight of himself.

Will felt a ripping sensation inside his throat, the feeling of a terrible pain clawing its way upwards, emerging in a gut-wrenching cry.


	8. Chapter 8

Will screamed. Nico furrowed his eyebrows and concentrated hard. Just millimetres before coming into contact with Nico’s palms, a soft flexible shadow platform appeared in the space between him and Chuck. Chuck’s shriek had been reduced to nothingness but cold salty tears streaming down both cheeks. After what seemed like a few minutes of rather painful exertion for Nico, Chuck realised his time had not yet come for him to meet Nico’s father, and he gave yet another of his high-pitched yelps of delight before discovering that he was not on the ground, but instead, hovering over a certain pale demigod who was now on his knees trying to support his weight. Nico scrunched his eyes up in exhaustion and turned weakly to Will to tell him to tell Chuck that it was high time he got down. Chuck reddened from embarrassment and instantaneously hopped down to the familiar feeling of land. Nico, relieved that the weight had been lifted off his shoulders, lay tired, on the floor, watching his chest heave up and down slightly. He opened his eyes and felt his heart force its way out of its prison, his pulse about the same as that of a leopard. He embraced the light breeze as it flew through his hair and observed the majestic iron birds as they stiffly moved their heavy wings. He stared at the clouds, recalling the styrofoamic texture of it and immediately sat straight up, only to have his lips collide with that of his concerned boyfriend. Remembering where they were, Nico blushed furiously and flinched back. He tilted his body sideways to address the crowd. 

“Guys, you know how i climbed to the top of the wall? Well, apparently, what you people thought of as the sky was actually...fake.” Chatter ensued throughout the inhabitants, confused mutterings and disbelieving interruptions. Newt stepped forward.

“It’s true.” Nico shot him a look. How did he know? Why would Newt trust this new greenie boy instead of the Gladers. He turned to the Gladers and they caught his stare, but most averted their eyes. They obviously knew something they didnt. Nico frowned.

“Guys, what is it?” Nico asked sharply, careful to send a tiny ripple of death through the crowd. They reluctantly turned to him, but none of them said a word. Nico was about to ask again when Newt answered for them.

“I once tried to jump off the walls but i couldnt reach the top so i jumped off at the same level you climbed up till.” Newt said this as a matter of factly, as though he didnt realise that he was actually indirectly admitting to having attempted suicide.

“So i know why you would cut. I know why you are miserable. I hate this place. I despise it. This is the reason for me not even for once thinking about the risks of trying to escape. I am behind you, i will follow you. I trust you to get us out of this maze, i trust your reliability. Even if in the end, we dont escape, i would not have a regret, because i know that i have trusted the right person with my life. Our future is not important. Yours is more. You absolutely have to escape this jail to save Harry.” Newt asserted firmly, giving Nico quite a bit of a shock. He had thought of Newt more of as a mild boy, mature and quiet. But now, he could see the look of innocence in his eyes. Nico couldnt bear to see it anymore. He hated the raised standards, the high expectations, the expression people gave him when he wasnt up to par. He hated when people gave him the sad stare, the pitying stare, the sorry stare. The one that said it would all be alright, because he knew it wasnt. Not since the moment Bianca left for the Underworld, not since the horrible stay with the twins, not since the days where pomegranates were his only food source. 

Nico muttered quietly under his breath, ”Okay sure whatever.” He knew it sounded really cold, heartless, but he didnt want to grow close to these people only to have to leave them later. That was the life of a demigod. You lose the ones you love, but stay with those you hate. It was always like that. But Nico shook those thoughts away. Those were most definitely not needed right now. His gaze swept over the people, effectively hushing them, then he found the one he was looking for. 

“Chuck? Could you please come over? I want to ask you how it felt like on the shadow.” Nico waved Chuck over. Chuck hesitated, wondering if this was a trick to lure him there so Nico could beat him to a pulp. He thought about this again though, then realised what a foolish thought it had been. He smiled, now more genuine. He strode over to right before Nico and answered with a finger to his chin.

“Um...it felt hard?” Sensing Nico’s raised eyebrow from the corner of his eye, Chuck carried on. “It also felt kinda...i dont know. Safe?” Chuck answered. Nico’s face morphed into one of serious consideration. Suddenly, something clicked in his mind.

Will watched Nico with wary eyes as a signature sly smile worked its way onto his face. His eyes lit up with pure delight and he seemed to recall something. Nico leapt to his feet and pointed his finger toward the air as Archimedes had done years before when he discovered the secret to displacement. Nico still had that wild grin on. He was glad. He had just realised that there was indeed a proper way to get out of the maze without deaths and even casualties! This only caused his smile to become even wider. Alas, he would finally be able to save Harry. He turned ecstatically toward Percy and Will, both of which had confused looks on their faces. But other than that, there were no similarities. Percy had a confused beam, Will, a confused frown. Nico pouted when he saw Will’s look of disapproval.

“What has made this blonde so upset?” Nico asked no one in particular directly, though he was hinting at Will. Will let loose of his frown and a sigh escaped his lips. Oh, his lips. How Nico yearned to kiss them, but no. Not in front of everyone. Will didnt notice Nico’s gape at his lips but answered.

“Nothing. What made you so happy though?” Nico replied immediately.

“I’ve found a way to escape the maze!” Will’s jaw dropped open. How? Just how? Wait no, something wasnt right. He hadnt found a way to escape before he recalled his past and this did not seem to be an idea he had contemplated before. That only left one possibility…

“No, Nico. i am not allowing you to encase us in shadow shields just so we can get outta here.” Nico’s face fell. A look of defiance crossed his face and he frowned.

“I didnt ask for your opinion. What’s more, its not your life we’re losing.” Newt had been mutely listening to this exchange between the two and decided to step in now.

“Woah woah woah boys. Chill. Whats all this about losing lives?” Nico refused to look him in the eye. Will answered.

“When he over-exerts hi--”

“Will…” Nico warned.

“--mself, he may lose co--”

“Will…” Nico pressed even harder, voice becoming even more threatening by the second.

“--ntrol of it and then--” Nico broke.

“SHUT IT SOLACE! I get it okay, i overexert myself often but so what? It’s not like it affects anyone. Besides, i need to--” Nico couldnt finish his sentence because without even realising it, Will had stood up and pressed his lips against Nico’s. Nico’s eyes widened though he didnt push back, rather, he let himself sink deeper and deeper into this beautiful act of affection. Nico did pull back a few seconds after though, trembling. Tears were streaming down his cheeks. Will reached out to him but Nico stepped back and fell. 

Still shaking, he whispered,

“I’m so sorry.”

And he vanished.   
_

Nico wrapped his arms around his body and rocked it back and forth, back and forth, in a slow, calming, soothing motion. He buried his head in his arms and felt rivulets moisten his shirt. He had gone to the forest, despite the risks. He needed to calm down. 

The long kiss with Will had triggered a memory from just before Bianca joined the Hunters, before they knew their demigod identity, when Bianca had been alive. He remembered that during his time in school, when he had this huge crush on a boy named Lenny. Nico had grown up in a time where homosexuals were not accepted and was scared to confess his feelings towards him. He in the end still did pluck up the courage to admit it to Lenny and Lenny had said that he reciprocated the feeling. Behind Bianca’s back he had begun dating Lenny, who, may i add, was a potential son of Apollo. He had calm blue eyes and a lovely jawline. His suburban hair complemented his tanned skin tone and Nico could never forget the feeling of his hand in his. He had felt true bliss then. Soon after, just seconds before the demigods had come to kidnap him, they finally had their first kiss. It was long and passionate, with Nico’s hand at the back of Lenny’s head. Lenny had been so startled but kissed back. It had been just like the one he had with Will. However, a few seconds later, Bianca had come over and Nico broke apart and he promised he would return right after. 

He never did. Nico supposed he didnt really ever get over Lenny, despite the fact that he was dating Will. Obviously he didnt love Lenny anymore, and could now think back and see that it had been rushed, inappropriate, but Lenny was constantly at the back of his head. His charming smile haunted Nico. Nico shakily brought his fingertips to his lips, recalling the touch of Lenny’s years before. Another tear slid down his cheek. And another. And another. He didnt seem to be able to stop it. Finally, a heart-wrenching sob broke free from Nico’s grasp. He pounded his fist against the tree bark and asked the question: Gods why? Why did everything always have to be taken away from him. Everything he invested in, put effort in. Everything he loved. He wiped away the tears with the back of his hand and sniffed silently, content with the rapidly wilting grass for company.

He sat there, and watched as the sun bid him goodnight, and dark clouds rolled over. They were still fake, Nico could tell. Built solely for testing the Gladers’ instincts in time of rain..

Nico breathed and reached into the Underworld. From there, he took a small violin. Nestling it nicely under his chin, he slowly began to play. As the movement of his hand got more vigorous, he sang softly, a calming tone that would have soothed millions immediately.

Puddles form on the paved roads  
In it’s my reflection  
I see my flaws  
All my faults  
What have i done wrong

What did i do  
What has made you  
Decide to turn your back on me  
When i need you most

I need you now  
But yet where are you  
But oh  
But oh  
Now i remember  
I lost you too  
When i was leaving home  
I forgot to tell you  
I would never make it back   
To say goodbye to you

The rain stopped  
But life goes on  
Though i still miss you  
You pretty face  
Your lovely ways  
I wont ever forget you

What did i do  
That made me deserve you  
But what now has made me  
Want to forget you

I need you now  
But yet where are you  
But oh  
But oh  
Now i remember  
I lost you too  
That very night of our first kiss   
Was our last one too  
I never got to say to you  
That i really really really really do love you

_

Will saw the wilting of grass in the distance and the melodious sounds of the violin. That left only one possibility: Nico was there. But however, before he could run in that direction, two strong arms held him back.

“Dont, Will. Let him rest. He deserves some alone time now.” Will wanted to defy Percy, but didnt know what with. He looked about frantically.

“But Percy! Its gonna rain! We needa tell him to get outta there!” Will protested. Percy shook his head.

“Nico has already tolld you and i and the Gladers that the godsdamn sky is fake. He wont be struck by lightning.” Percy said confidently. Will waved his arms about.

“But...but…” Percy put a finger to his lips. Will’s face fell. He knew what that meant. End of discussion. Case closed. No more talking about it. Will stared glumly at the downpour now from a sheltered area. 

All he could do now, was wait.  
_

Nico peeled open his tear-crusted eyes and sat up, confused. Where was he? Oh, right. In the forest. He looked down to his hands and was relieved to see that it was still there. For a few moments, he thought he had lost it. He couldnt lose it. It was his first gift ever from Will and Nico was afraid he would lose it hence the decision to keep it in the Underworld unless he wanted to play it. It was played from the 16th to the 18th century, and was called the baroque violin. Such instruments were still played and sold for millions. When such an old instrument is played on in a concert, the only person who could actually identify it was Nico, and occasionally Hazel. Both coming from the older generations, those instruments at the time were still considered new and trendy. Will had specially gone to a special violin crafter to craft it customise it for Nico. Smiling at the memory, Nico snapped his finger and it sank into the ground. Nico stood up and felt the pleasurable feeling of cracking his knuckles. He tilted his head left and right, and for a moment, wondered why no Grievers were nearby. Right, he had this stay-away-unless-you-are-a-moron aura, bring the son of Hades and all. 

Suddenly, the pieces came together. Aura. No Grievers nearby. 

Nico could barely contain his excitement. He had found the best way to escape the maze without Grievers on their tails.

He ran towards the Gladers.


	9. Chapter 9

He ran towards the Gladers, chest heaving and slightly out of breath. He stopped right in front of the infamous duo and rested his locked hands on his bent knees, panting heavily. He was drenched from both the previous night’s rain and his pespiration and his shirt was soaked, clinging tightly to his defined abs. His wet hair was matted and his pants wrapped themselves tightly around Nico’s pencil thin legs. Nico caught Minho and Newt’s eyes and he already knew what they were going to say. Newt eyed him and began.

“God, Nico. Damn, you’r--”

Nico put a finger up. “Dont even think about it.” Minho carried on, despite the risks.

“--e hot.” Nico made a disgusted face.

“I’m taken boys.” Nico said, his face scrunched up, and pushed past them with little force, a disbelieving scoff unsuppressable. He ducked under a thin cotton curtain and looked about for Will. Even when about ten metres from the duo, Nico could still hear their chat about him.

“Oh my god. When the shit did he ever even train?” That was Minho speaking. Nico smirked. How about in two freaking wars? Like yea you know i just walk around the Glade and baam! I wake up with godsdamn abs! Totally. 

“Exactly. I mean, did you see those abs? Like, i may not be gay but i sure do know when i see a hot guy.” Newt replied. Nico felt like laughing out loud at their exchange. Yep, totally not gay. Totally not gay.

“Nico di Angelo, i heard that!” Newt yelled. Oops. Maybe he had said it out loud. But what did that matter? It was true…Nico smirked.

“I am NOT gay either di Angelo! Fight me!” Minho yelled, then immediately regretting what he had said. If he actually did fight Nico, a goner he was. Schist. What an idiot. Minho mentally facepalmed and his face was drained of colour.

To his relief, however, he heard a dark chuckle from Nico. “i think you already regret saying that, man, so nah, i’ll pass.” Newt saw the relief in his eyes and slapped Minho on the back. The rapid beating of his heart slowed considerably and colour flooded back into Minho’s face.

“You bloody moron! What were you even thinking when you said that!?” Minho felt a blush creep onto his face and he shrugged. 

I am not gay. Minho, now that he thought back to it, scoffed. Of course he wasnt gay, probably. He wouldnt even think for one second about wooing Nico or Will or Percy however (he admitted it) hot they were. But Newt...if he were a girl, maybe. But if he was a boy…

“C’mon Minho the goat. Nico’s calling for us to gather.” Newt informed Minho. Minho nodded and packed up a few things before gathering with the rest of the Gladers. On the way there, he discussed with Newt regarding the past night’s events. Sighing at the beautiful golden ball of fire as it rose, Minho asked.

“Newt, what’cha think bout last night? Like, Nico running away, that kinda thing.”

“No opinion? I mean, he is really an introvert majority of the time anyway. This shouldnt be an exception.”

“Hm.” Minho pursed his lips together. He had been sure he had heard sobs from the forest last night. He turned to Newt.

“Oh and why do you think no Grievers came after Nico?” Minho asked, whispering. He was well aware that Newt may just snap at him to shut up for he knew that this boy was very strict about giving one respect. 

Instead, Newt shrugged. “I dont know. Now shut up. He’s talking.” Newt put a finger to his lips and pointed to the boy. Nico had stood up and the Gladers were forming a circle surrounding him.

“Guys, hi. I have found us a new way to escape the maze and,” Nico shot Will a look. “It doesnt involve me overexerting myself.” He felt Will’s approving nod and apparent curiosity at the new way. “But.” Nico continued. “It isnt nearly as effective or healthy as the first one.” Nico was aware of the frowns beginning to form on everybody’s faces. Will’s initial inquisitive demeanour immediately changed to a skeptical and cynical expression. Nico took a deep breath and rushed through the next bit. 

“Okay so after last night, while i was staying in the forest, i fell asleep there. Yes, i am aware that Grievers usually roam the forests at night but let’s just put it this way, i couldnt care less. But then, in the morning, i woke up, half-expecting myself to be in front of my father, but i realised that well, i was...alive. I began to think about the possibilities for my nonexistent death then i narrowed it down to three possibilities. One, the Grievers didnt notice me, then i thought about it and found that wasnt possible because being a demigod of the Big Three, monsters would seize their chances to kill us. We are probably especially delicious or something but that’s beside the point. Anyway, i ruled out that possibility. Two, i was actually in the Underworld but i didnt know it, but obviously that’s not true, which...leads me to the last possibility.” Nico could hear sharp intakes of breath and slight hyperventilation. He ignored it. 

“Lastly, the last possibility was that the thing that kept them away was...me. Being the offspring of Hades, i emit a ‘keep-away-from-me’ aura so monsters and people alike dont want to be near me.” Nico could hear comments like ‘not kidding’ and ‘no shit’ but to him, it was really irrelevant.

“Feel pity for me or whatever, i dont care. This is my life. So i began to think of a plan. If my core is the thing that keeps them away, my darkness, that is, then i could share them with, well...you guys.” Many horrified whispers were released, defiant mutterings escaped and snide remarks made. Nico chose to pretend he didnt notice it, but inside, was rather hurt. Am i really that bad a person? He wondered to himself. Then he thought about it. I guess i am then, he concluded when the chatter didnt stop. He sighed.

“It will keep you safe, and isnt permanent. I know this isnt the best idea but Will and Percy objected to the other one so...blame them if anything.” The Gladers turned sheepish and embarrassed when Nico said that; they knew he knew what they had been thinking. It wasnt fair towards him. They effectively shut up. 

Nico watched as the people went quiet and looked around, all avoiding his eyes. Nico laid his eyes on an unfortunate person he knew as Lucas. Nico particularly remembered this name for it was rather peculiar; Lucas Malvolio Susanto. Nico was about to call him up but then decided against it. He himself hated it when others made decisions for him. It was very annoying, especially so as he had previously stated his disapproval. He rubbed his forehead, then looked towards the demigods. They, sadly, were equally reluctant. He sighed. He didnt want to have to do this, but he guessed it was the only option.

“Since none of yall want to--”

“I’ll go first.” Nico jumped slightly. He had not expected someone to actually volunteer. He swiveled his head towards the voice and found its owner. It was Newt. Nico tilted his head in confusion. But then again, no one else wanted to and he wasnt one to complain. Beckoning him over, he slowly placed Newt’s warm hands in his smooth ice-cold hands. He caught Newt’s slight blush and he himself turned red. 

“Uh...this is how i transmit a bit of my darkness. I understand that this is awkward but...this is necessary. Im sorry.” Nico mumbled. Newt’s blush subsided and Nico could see Will suppressing his laughter. Sending a death glare in his direction, he resignedly shook his head. He was way too mature for these childish idiots. 

My idiot. Nico smiled at the thought. Taking a deep breath, he was just about to start the ritual when Newt piqued up.

“Um...on a scale of one to ten, how safe is this?” Nico stifled an oncoming chuckle. Newt being scared was rare. But he would not laugh at one’s fears or flaws. He was a nice person. Or so he liked to think. 

“It will hurt a bit, but its safe.” Nico stated plainly, sounding as kind as he could. He didnt want to hide the truth from this boy. Not after he experienced what it felt like to be deceived for over seventy years. He saw the slight trace of fear cross his face, but Newt quickly put on a brave expression. Nico grinned; he knew what it was like to push down your fear and face the boulder ahead face on. Gently placing his hands on the boy’s now, he shut his eyes and released his pent in darkness. He felt the urge to let go of it all and let his burden embrace its new owner but he thought better of it. He could feel the clot of darkness surging into the boy as it coursed through his veins and just as he was about to lose hold of it, he drew back. He anxiously looked at Newt who was on the ground wincing and writhing in pain. Something clicked in Nico’s mind. If he gave his darkness to someone, along with it would go his pain and suffering. Fuck.

“Bruh! Hurt a bit? This is like 1000 out of 10 on the scale! What the actual fuck?!” Newt swore loudly. Nico’s heart felt tight and his ribcage suddenly didnt seem to work the same anymore. It contracted in short heaves, too fast for Nico to control. His vision blurred slightly, then became too focused. Black spots danced in front of his eyes and he sensed two warm loving arms wrap him from behind.

“Listen to me Nico. Breathe in.” A soothing but firm voice instructed. Nico tried, but it wasnt working. He felt light-headed and his feet were heavy. He faintly heard vague voices telling others to bring him to the infirmary and he felt himself being heaved off the ground easily. He forced open his eyes and he saw Newt still gasping for air and grappling around on the ground. A surge of energy coursed through him and he pushed himself out of his carrier’s arms. He stumbled over to Newt’s side and fell onto his scraped knees. Biting his lower lip, he placed his arm three fingers below Newt’s chest. Gathering his last bit of strength, he took back half of Newt’s darkness and felt the calming dark sensation flood through him. His breathing evened out, and he lay back on the floor. He could see the relief in Newt’s eyes, and he himself knew that despite the fact that he had took back some darkness from Newt, a little bit remained in him. It was required. Nico had accidentally given Newt too much for both of them to handle. Newt was weighted with too much, Nico deprived of his own element. Nico was still to distribute his darkness among the Gladers but each of them would not receive as much as Newt. Minho probably, but the rest around half of the allocated amount. 

Will leaned over Nico and saw the smile on his face. Rolling his eyes, he reminded himself that it was typical of this son of Hades to do such risky and reckless things. Sometimes even downright stupid things. But...he would have to get used to it. Nico coughed and sat up, his head hitting Will’s. Nico cursed in italian softly and pushed propped himself up against a tree. He was weakened, Will could tell, but he wasnt going to stop him. He wasnt going to lie; this transmission of energy was necessary for everyone to at least have a chance of escaping alive. After all, what was the use of escaping dead? No use at all. Will narrowed his eyebrows as he conducted a quick check on Nico’s physical (and mental) health. He heaved a sigh of relief. All was well. If Nico was in a good enough mood, he should be able to finish the transmissions with the others. Nico sure seemed ready now, but problem was, the others didnt. They looked petrified. But one brave soul volunteered. Will was surprised at first, but when he saw who it was, the surprise faded. But of course, Minho was ready to be the next victim of the experiment. 

He courageously stood forward in front of Nico and told him that he was ready. Nico cracked a small smile of gratitude. 

“I take it that this process is really painful?” Nico scoffed and turned to look at Newt who was still hunched over. Newt looked less pale than before but was still in pain.

“Nah. i just accidentally gave him too much and left myself too little. This son of Hades needs darkness to live.” Nico proclaimed as though that statement was extremely dignified. Minho let out a nervous chuckle and proceeded to put Nico’s hand in his, causing Nico to flinch slightly. Minho realised what he was doing and blushed.

“Im sorry. I just wanted to get this over and done with quickly.” Minho apologised. Nico nodded and gingerly touched Minho’s hands lightly again. Then, he proceeded to repeat the same process but focused to make sure that the dose was just enough. A ripple of the element flooded Nico’s veins and as soon as he heard a gasp from the receiver, Nico drew back abruptly and found Minho shell-shocked. Minho stood there, ashened, his face as white as sheet. Nico turned away, as though he couldnt bear to see the pain he had inflicted on Minho. Minho’s face wasnt nearly as contorted as Newt’s had been before but this sure didnt look much better. He looked more shocked than hurt, though Nico knew the true pain would come much later. A thing in the long run.

Suppressing the urge to rid the boy of hurt, he whispered,

“Forgive me.”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  
Ok so guys, i was wondering whether yall want me to put Minho and Newt together. If you dont, its fine. Either way, the story will still end as i have already planned.


	10. Chapter 10

“O-okay so we’re done here with transmission of darkness. I sincerely apologise for the pain it will bring you but this is only a temporary measure. Once we escape, that darkness goes back to me. I need it too.” The Gladers, now burdened, sighed with relief and tried to adapt to the new miserable life. It was horrible, but majority of them didnt mind as long as Nico was less hurt. Unknown to him, many Gladers worried constantly about his health and cared about his overall wellbeing. If he just opened up a little, he would know that. But he was afraid. Afraid of becoming the weak vulnerable child he once was, lost and scared. So he shut everyone out and looked after himself. Lived a life of solitude. He just imagined the thought of nobody attending his funeral, probably with the sole exceptions of Will and Hazel. why would the others bother? After all, in his time on Argo II, all he had done was...being a burden. 

He took a deep calming breath and steadied his vision. After the first few transmissions, he already felt the loss of familiarity and felt slightly light-headed, but he had pushed on. He wanted to be fair, impartial. So he had. Minho, Newt, Will and even Percy had tried to stop him midway but he had shrugged them off. He knew they cared, but he really just wanted to do something useful for once, rather than being that ‘selfish’, ‘heartless’, ‘cold-blooded’, ‘useless’ brat everyone thought of him as. He just wanted to prove to everyone, as well as himself, that he was able of doing such an easy task. He didnt want to have to be compared to Percy again as his junior, or the second next to him. He hated the pitying looks, the raised hopes, and failed expectations. Well, it seemed the only way to get rid of that was simply to just surpass these standards. To do that, he had to be able to accomplish simple feats as such.

Now, he attempted to shake of the impending migraine. It only served to make it worse. Will bounced over to his side, but when he saw the paleness in his already-pale-to-begin-with face, he fussed over him like a worried mother.

“Nico? Are you alright? Does your head hurt? Do you want to sit down? Shall i call for Newt? How about Minho? Maybe Percy? Are you okay?”

Nico looked at Will. he wanted to scream. To yell. He wanted to tell the whole world of its unfairness. He wanted to rage. He wanted to cry. To weep. To wallow in self-pity. But all he could do was whisper a small

“Im fine.” Will looked doubtful, but when he saw the murderous look in hi boyfriend’s eyes, he backed off.

“Okay then. Shall we go back to the hammocks?” Nico made a face.

“Hey, you know that because of this lets-escape plan thing, they totally disregarded the everyone-must-do-something rule right?” Nico made another face.

“Yes i am aware of that but to give them a even higher chance of escaping unscathed, we should give them some weapons.” Will nodded thoughtfully.

“But giving them weapons wont do anything unless they actually know how to use them.” Nico pondered over this.

“So you suggest we teach them some techniques?”

“Nono not ‘we’. Just you and Percy. You know i am absolute crap at swordfighting.” Nico raised an eyebrow.

“So this is some scheming plan to get me and Percy to do all the work while you do nothing?” Nico smirked though internally grimaced. This loss of darkness was something he was beginning to think whether it was really needed. This was giving him serious problems. But then again, he could always go into the forest and kill some insects then let his sword absorb its darkness. Perhaps that would lessen the effects. Nico sighed. How totally inconvenient.

Will hit Nico lightly on the shoulder and lovingly put his arm around Nico’s waist.

“Nah. i just know that your skills are lit and the Gladers should know about this talent. Not to mention your elegant ballroom dancing…” Nico pouted. He really regretted trying to teach Will how to dance. It had started out okay, but soon it seemed that Nico was just professional while Will was busy trying not to trip over his own two feet. Nico almost laughed out loud at the memory. It was hilarious, even by Nico’s standards, which said a lot.

Together, they reached the open field of the Glade. Unable to keep it in any longer, Nico abruptly turned to Will and gave him a short and sweet yet passionate kiss on the lips. He pulled back shyly with his ears pink and a coy smile playing on his lips.

“Too many people here Will.” Nico shied away, blushing, the smile still on his lips. Will smirked and pecked him on the cheek while Nico scrunched up his nose.

“Will…” Will deadpanned and rolled his eyes but refused to move away. That was all fine with Nico. Nico needed to find each of the Gladers a suitable, balanced sword for them or whatever type of weapon that suited them. With Will’s stunning whistle (not as in impressive stunning but like shocking stunning), the Gladers, rather frumpily, gathers in front of them. They were not in the best of moods especially after the new weights latched on to them. Still, they obediently sat down, some irritatedly rubbing their ears at the ringing sound. Nico cleared his throat.

“Dudes, this part will be more interesting, i hope. We will be giving you your own weapons. Newt, i see that frown. No. this will not be to harm your fellow friends, no matter how much you could possibly dislike them.” Nico could almost swear he heard a comment from Percy sounding very much like,

“No one probably hates people more than any of yall do.” Nico rolled his eyes. This boy was becoming quite a nuisance when he wasnt being helpful.

“Anyway, as i was saying, this is to be used for and only for defence against Grievers. Yes, despite the drastically lowered chances of meeting a Griever, the potential of meeting one still remains. Many of you are probably indignant about that but let me tell you,” Nico rose his voice a notch as the chatter began. His voice would soon not be able to take it any longer and it would probably be gone the next day. He couldnt allow that to happen. He still wanted to play his violin and sing along to his favourite tunes and melodies. So, he kept quiet and waited for them to shut their mouths. The Gladers noticed something was amiss and did as expected. They kept quiet. 

“Im sorry i gotta implement this rule but the next person that interrupts me is to drop twenty pushups immediately. They each narrowed their eyes but they secretly feared the consequence. One brave soul, Lebron, decided to test his boundaries. He raised his hand. Technically, it was not truly interrupting but this boy was pushing it. Nico noted this and chose to entertain this boy.

“Yes?”

“You said that we had to drop twenty pushups if we interrupted you. But, can you yourself do twenty pushups?” Nico smirked; these were one of those people who had zero IQ and hundred percent ego. 

“Yes, why?”

“Prove it.” Nico narrowed his eyes.

“Why should i? I dont need to prove anything to you. Can you?” Nico saw the smug look on his face falter.

“Why?” Nico shrugged. Lebron went on without waiting for a response from Nico.

“Dont poke your nose into matters that you dont need to know.” Lebron stated harshly.

“Try stopping me.”

“I would, if you--”

“Shut up, unless you want my foot going up somewhere you dont need to know.” Nico replied hotly.

“Am i supposed to guess where that is?” Nico was at his boiling point.

“Sir Lebron, there is something called a gro--” Will clamped his hand over Nico’s mouth just in time before Nico mentioned that not-to-be-mentioned word. Nico, unable to say anything, settled for both middle fingers at the boy. Lebron huffed and turned heel. Will released his hand and Nico seized the opportunity.

“LEBRON YOU UNCULTURED SWINE! YOU COWARDLY FUCKING IDIOT!” Nico purposely laced his words with ripples of fear and terror and also deliberately removed half of the darkness from Lebron. 

“LETS SEE HOW YOU SURVIVE IN THE MAZE NOW!” Nico yelled after him. Taking deep calming breaths, he suppressed his boiling anger and turned back to the shaken Gladers. Seeing their horrified faces, he decided to make a quick job of this weapon choosing. He sighed. There were around thirty Gladers in total excluding Lebron. Nico glanced at the Gladers and at once, he knew what weapons they required. Perhaps it would not take as long as thought to be.

“Chuck, celestial bronze dagger, twelve inches each. Jorleign, wooden staff, four feet. Alecto, get him the one with imperial gold chips at the tips. Frypan…” Nico went on like this after summoning Alecto to the surface. Not long after, his whole body glowed with regal light and his head was nestling a crown made of shadows. Annoyed, he swatted it away and carried on, telling Alecto what to summon and passing it to the respective Gladers. 

It was a faster process than expected. In around half an hour, everyone was done, with the exception of Newt and Minho. Will led Minho away after confirming that he had the perfect build for archery. Gods know where he was led to, and all Nico knew was that he came back with a silly grin on his face, blabbering incoherently about the joy of archery. 

Meanwhile, Nico was experimenting with Newt. He tried a stygian iron sword, a celestial bronze sword, an imperial gold sword, and repeated that with daggers, staffs and knives. Nico was almost out of ideas, then he remembered something. 

“This is something i often use. I summon wood from asphodel and strengthen it with my harnessed power to make twin daggers with stygian iron blades. However, considering that you dont have shadowy abilities, you should do just fine with the same thing without the shadow. Even if you did add shadows anyway, it wouldnt do much as you dont have control over it.” Newt barely registered any information. All he knew was that he was finally getting a damn weapon. Nico turned to Alecto and Newt watched as they had a heated exchange then Alecto returned grudgingly with Newt’s weapon. Nico handed it to him proudly and Newt tested it out. It made a low whistling sound as it sliced through the air. Sweet. 

Newt grinned.  
_

Nico reached into a dark shadow of the trees and drew his hand back. In his hand now wielded a peculiar iron sword, black as a nightmare. It glinted in the sunlight and looked to be about two and a half feet long. Scoffing at the Gladers’ terrified expressions, he turned to Percy, who sadly, also had a nervous look.

“Jackson, we are both children of the Big Three and now you’re telling me that you’re scared of me? You’re literally the one who fought beside me most often!” Percy was sheepish, but protested anyway.

“Exactly! I know how you fight and your professionalism! And in addition, i know that over the course of time you spent in that pig disease wizarding school, you improved to a whole new level!” Nico raised an eyebrow. He was skeptical. But he didnt care about Percy’s opinions right now. All he wanted to do was teach the Gladers some basic fighting techniques so that in the case of a Griever attack (the chances was greatly lowered but the slim chance of them attacking remained), they at least had some reflexes. Pushing down his nervousness, Percy unsheathed Riptide and pushed his sleeves up. Nico smirked when the Gladers gasped at Percy’s build. Percy caught this smirk and pouted.

“Its not like im the only hot one hear. This emo boy and sunny kid are also as hot.” Percy retorted. That wiped the smirk right off Nico’s face. Slyly, Nico slipped into the shadows and reappeared behind Will and lifted his shirt. Wiggling his eyebrows and silently hoping he would not be next, Nico grinned and just as slyly shadow-travelled back to his original place. 

“Yep that sunny kid’s hot.” Nico smiled proudly and crossed his arms. Then, he caught Percy sneakily advancing towards him and with a chuckle, Nico turned to him while addressing the Gladers.

“Guys, the first technique im gonna teach yall is how to fend off Grievers using a certain technique i dont know how to name. Lets just call it...the not-to-be-named technique. Okay so first...Percy, being the Griever, will try to sting you. Lets pretend Riptide is the stinger.” Nico was about to begin when a Glader asked.

“Im sorry Nico, but what is Riptide?” Nico caught murmurs of assent and Nico proceeded to explain. Once satisfied, the Glader he knew to be Alex nodded. Shaking his head to try to rid himself of the headache, he returned to teaching them techniques.

For the next three hours, the duo taught the Gladers several basic techniques and they catered to everyone’s different needs. Percy was tending to Lebron, as Nico, though better at the art of teaching, had adamantly refused to teach that douchebag of a boy. He was just so fucking annoying. From the corner of his eye, he saw a Glader using the wrong technique for a staff. Sighing, he walked over to the startled Glader and listened attentively as Nico explained and demonstrated the technique. Looking at the boy’s confused face, he asked patiently

“Do you understand?” The boy shyly shook his head. Cracking a small smile, he knelt and said,

“Its okay. Shall i demonstrate the technique again?” The boy nodded and Nico lightly held his own staff in his hand.

“Okay so all you need to do is really just…”


	11. Chapter 11

Nico could barely walk straight. It was approximately seven in the evening but Nico felt as though he hadnt slept in a thousand nights. It wasnt exactly a lie though. He hadnt slept much in the past few days. Often, he stayed up til the wee hours of the morning, had a short nap, then woke up about an hour or a half later. He did that so as to not have to suffer the nightmares. It worked, but one could say it deprived him of sleep. A lot of sleep. He tripped over his two feet and had to constantly rub his eyes to keep them open. The dark eye bags under his contrasted the paleness of his olive skin greatly. It was like night and day, like Nico and Will. Nico’s face lit up just at the thought of Will. over the past few days, Nico had been too occupied to properly spend quality time with Will. He decided to cancel the night’s events, whatever they were, and spend the night talking to Will. Scanning the area through his bleary-eyed vision, he spotted Will with Minho. Nico had finally finished teaching the Gladers the proper techniques for combat and weapons. Minho, Will had stated, was a fast learner. Nico smiled. Minho had better not cause too much trouble for Will, or he would have to suffer the consequences of incurring this son of Hades’ wrath. Nico silently watched the duo as Will positioned himself behind Minho to draw his arrow back. Nico was envious of Minho. He wished so much that he was in Minho’s position and Will would lovingly touch his hand and teach him patiently while Nico would whisper sweet nothings into his ear. Will would then affectionately caress Nico’s cheeks and Nico would feel the warmth of Will’s breath blowing across his face like the winter breeze. Nico let out an unintentionally low sigh at the thought of this cute fantasy.

Will scoffed at the blushing Nico. he thought he had heard a familiar sigh and true enough, there was the love of his life. Nico, standing in the shadows, waved lethargically and shuffled over to his boyfriend’s side with his hands stuffed in his pockets. 

Will was so elated he nearly jumped with joy. Instead, he settled for a light-hearted “hi”. Nico graced Will with one of his rare charming smiles and pecked him on the cheek fondly.

“Ciao amore.” Nico breathed into his ear. Will shivered and his nerves tingled at the cool air touched his skin. Minho scrunched up his nose.

“Kids, im feeling the love here, but could you not?” Minho said sarcastically. Nico smirked at Minho and shrugged. He whispered for Will to sit next to him at the campfire later.

“Hey Will? Later, at the campfire, leave a spot for me yeah?” Will’s eyes widened.

“You’re coming for the campfire?” Ever since he came to the Glade, he had not gone for the campfire. Sometimes, it brought back memories he couldnt quite remember, and after he recalled the past, it hurt to know that his friends and sister weren’t there with him. It reminded him of the sad days at camp where everyone shunned him, and also the happy memories of him and the seven with Reyna and Will. Nico bit his lip.

“Yea im going. We’re going to be leaving the Glade anytime soon. Before we leave, i wanna see how it feels like to be by the campfire. Besides, we havent been able to spend as much time as i would’ve liked so...its time to make it up, i suppose.” if Will’s smile could’ve gotten any bigger, it certainly did. Most of the time, he was usually alone with no one to talk to at the campfire as his only good Glader friends were Minho and Newt, both of which sometimes preferred to sit together and talk to each other. Even after Percy’s arrival, the Gladers had begun to warm up to him, not leaving much time for Percy to really talk to Will. often, Percy would sit beside Will and after the mutual greeting, a random Glader would pull Percy away or Will away then talk to them separately. It was always awkward in either situation, for both of them weren’t exactly close to many Gladers.

“Sure thing, amore.” Nico chuckled at the choppiness of the statement as Nico had just taught him that a few days before they left for Hogwarts. Or mostly just Nico left for Hogwarts. Giving him one small sweet long deep look in the eyes, Nico held Will’s hands in his, squeezing them lightly. Once Nico had gone, Will shot Minho a sheepish smile and returned to teaching him diligently, but Nico never left his mind.  
_

The sun began to set, bringing out the warm red and orange hues of the campfire. It became bright and vivid, contrasting greatly against the dull backgrounds of the Glade. The licking flames danced high in the sky, twirling about in the shadow of the moon. Will sat close by on a mossy trunk, his attention on the mesmerising flames. The flames seemed to die down for a few seconds and Percy ran to get some more wood. The air was filled with joyous sounds and he eyed Newt beside him laughing, sitting beside Minho as they chattered about nothing in particular. The sky was painted with streaks of pink and blue, golden tints hanging like banners from the sky. 

Will frivolously bounced his left leg up and down while he idly tapped his fingers on his thigh. He turned around again and searched about for Nico. He had said he would be here, so where was he? Will knitted his eyebrows to form a line. The campfire was about to start soon and Nico still hadnt arrived. Will frowned. Nico better arrive soon or else…

Just then, as if on cue, Will caught sight of a shady teenager running in his direction. Will waved frantically to facilitate Nico’s movement. Nico gave his two-finger wave and slipped into the seat in between Newt and Will. Minho was sitting to Newt’s right and Percy to Will’s left. 

“Ciao, amore mio.” Nico whispered as he leaned forward to peck Will on the cheek. Grinning, Will held Nico’s hand in his. Nico pretended to be void of expression, but he felt a slight blush creep up his cheeks. Nico looked down at their intertwined fingers and squeezed it comfortingly. 

“Where’ve you been, amore?” Nico ignored the question and feigned ignorance. Will eyed the little bit of sooty looking stuff at the side of his left palm and his thumb seemed to have touched a whole lot of lead. Nico rubbed his long fingers on Will’s hands and Will leaned slightly against Nico.

Nico enjoyed the little rare bit of warmth he got from Will, however much he denied it. Newt caught Nico’s pink ears and raised his eyebrows. Nico didnt see it, but he could feel the stares at his back. Clearing his throat, he abruptly stuffed his hands in his pocket, unwittingly pulling Will’s with his too. Will yelped at the sudden movement and Nico frowned at Will. it was awkward enough for Nico to even so much as grace this absolutely interesting campfire with his unmistakable presence, yet now Will had the audacity to yelp? Nico was already beginning to regret coming. He turned his gaze to Gally, who was standing in the middle of the circle. He was hearing, but wasnt registering. He was too focused on the occasional stare that was sent his way. Nico bit his lower lip and blushed, looking down to fiddle with his fingers.

“Di Angelo?” Nico’s head snapped up in surprise. Gally was smiling at him, though it came out more like a smirk. 

Nico narrowed his eyes. “Yes Gally?” 

“Oh nothing. I just wanted to make sure that the hottest yet most inattentive boy in the Glade listening cos im going to say something that i need you in particular to hear.” Nico nodded and gestured for him to go on, then realised what Gally had just said. He turned to Will.

“Im sorry Will, but did he just...what the fuck?” Will shot him a look and nodded before hushing him and turning his head to face Gally.

“Okay so everybody knows that we’re going to escape the Glade soon?” Many nods.. 

“And yall know that Percy, Will and Nico are leading us?” Nico nodded, then frowned.

“Wait what?” Gally sighed.

“Yes you are. Honestly, i didnt want to either, but Newt and Minho convinced me that you three are most suitable, despite the fact that you guys came just a while ago.” Gally rubbed his temples soothingly. “Im beginning to already regret this decision so i hope you wouldnt disappoint me.” Nico made a face.

“Must i really?” Nico gave his best puppy-eye look. Will noticed this and groaned. Contrary to poplular opinion, Niico was really good at that look.

“Gally, no. you are NOT giving in to that look. Nononononono…” Will covered Nico’s eyes and he immediately began to squirm.

“OKAY Will. Fine fine fine, i accept.” Nico announced and tore away Will’s arms. “And Will, you bitch. Dont touch me.” 

Will smiled. “awww...i love you too.” Nico facepalmed. That hadnt even been what he said. But then again, Nico couldnt deny his love for that rather eccentric son of Apollo.

“I accept too.” Percy cut in. He had on a serious look, sending chills down Nico’s spine. Percy could look intimidating when he wanted too, and damn did he look the part now. Percy caught Nico’s stare.

“I know im hot Nico, but its wrong to two-time Will.” Percy teased while Nico reddened.

“W-what the fuck? Bruh, that was so long ago!” Nico spluttered. Percy smirked. “You dont like me doesnt mean im not hot. In fact, im more that hot. Im magnificent!” Percy jokingly proclaimed. Nico made disgusted sounds. Will cleared his throat.

“Uh yea sure ill accept too.” Nico’s blush subsided and he linked his arms with Will. He momentarily snuggled up against Will’s warm chest then pulled away and settled for Will’s warm hand in his. Just then, he remembered something. He reached into a shadow a few inches away and put in a stick and a book. Will was just about to ask Nico what that had been when he heard an unmistakable groan from Percy. He was up on his feet and looked almost angry at Gally. But then Will noticed the little smile on his lips and grinned. 

“What is it now Percy?” Percy made a face.

“Gally doesnt allow me to sing...i want to singggg…” Will stifled his laughter as Percy whined. He put a friendly arm around Percy’s shoulder, chuckling softly.

“C’mon dude, let someone else have a chance...like Nico…” Percy and Will looked at each other simultaneously. They rubbed their hands together and an evil glint shone in their eyes. 

“Nico is going to kill us for this.” Will warned. Percy shrugged.

“That’s why its fun.”  
_

“Who wants to go up today to lead in the singing…” Nico’s heart skipped a beat. Oh shit. Not singing. Nico sneaked a peek at Will and to his relief (or not), he found that Will was no where to be seen. Putting on his hoodie, he lowered his head and tried to slip into the shadows. He put one foot in the pool of darkness, and was about to put the other when he heard a faint rustling sound Then, he felt a pair of hands, or two, push him from behind. Annoyed, he frowned and looked back. He heard a gasp and instantly, he felt his blood run cold. He was in the middle of the circle. Of people. His. Worst. Nightmare. Gally had a surprised look on his face but shrugged and spoke.

“Okay...so it seems Nico has volunteered himself. Um...stage’s yours.” Gally got over the initial surprise and warmly welcomed Nico. Everyone’s eyes turned to him and waited expectantly for him to begin. Nico was so confused.

“Wait what? Oh gods...this must be Will and Percy. Moronic assholes, those fucked up bitches.” The ground shook and a voice spoke.

“Language son. Language.” Nico frowned. Black bolts of lightning Nico knew to be ghost lightning streaked the vibrant sky and small chasms opened beneath Nico. Several Gladers gasped while some gaped. Basically, this could only mean one thing...

“Father? What are you doing here?” Nico said in the most polite tone he could muster. He had been taught from young that to get far in life, which was kind of ironic now but still, one had to know when to be nice and when to be bitchy. This was the time to not be himself. Hades clucked his tongue.

“Im here to help you.” Nico raised an eyebrow.

“Now now, you need to be grateful. I went against Zeus orders because i need to tell you something really important.” 

“Again? You already did that once.” Hades sighed.

“Exactly why you should be grateful. By the way, please dont speak out loud. Im kinda in your head.” Nico looked around and found that true enough, the Gladers were giving him weird looks despite their shock.

“Yes father?” Nico thought in his mind.

“Okay son, the thing is, i feel that the best way to help you is to like...make you my host? Crash course. In another form of mythology, gods use mortals as their hosts. Im going to do that to you, just i wont be in you. It will be more like becoming a god. Your senses will be more alert and you will have my powers too. But for that, you need to allow me to talk to you through minds. This will help you, and...also help me decide.” Nico tilted his head.

“Decide what?” Nico could almost see the invisible dismissive wave of Hades’ hand and sighed.

“Okay sure. No questions. But you’d better be nice, or im kicking you out.” 

“Im your father kid.”

“Whatever, i dont care.”

“Yea well now for the important information.”

“Oh yea you havent told me what it is yet.”

“Yea well thing is, Zeus was lying.” Nico’s heart skipped a beat.

“Son, try not to do that too often.”

“Do what?” Nico was beginning to get annoyed.

“Make your heart skip a beat. Unless, its that son of Apollo causing it…”

“DAD!” Nico groaned out loud and immediately clamped his hand over his mouth. He ran out of the circle and into the forest, tripping over some small stones, swearing and cursing as he sped. He stopped behind a little room and panting, he went in. Hades continued.

“Anyway, as i was saying, Zeus has lied. In truth, Harry only has five days left before he is gone forever. Its ten days less than the original and i think im right in guessing that the Gladers are not ready?”

Nico was panicking. “No! Of course not! And there’s this kid called Lebron who’s unwilling to cooperate!” Hades chuckled.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing. He just has a crush on you. You know, boys like to catch each other’s attention by standing out.”

“Well, that worked so well. And im with Will!”

“Exactly why he doesnt stand a chance. Stay away from him, i’d say.”

“Duh. But...does Harry really only have five days left?” Hades sighed.

“Yes its true son. Actually, if you search for his life aura as of now, you can tell that its really weak.” Nico did just that and to his horror, Hades was right.

“Okay so dad, whats the plan?”

“You be my power harnesser, in that sense. You have my abilities, you become stronger. Higher chance of getting out quicker. Save Harry.”

“One thing i dont get; why would i need your powers?”

“Because,” Hades began, as though it was really obvious, which it was. “With more power, comes higher chances of getting out quicker cos it will be easier to kill any Grievers. Im beginning to think that you inherited more of your mother’s genes rather than my godly genes.”

“Well i rather have more of mom’s genes than yours if yours are what i think they are.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Hades mocked hurt, but Nico had on a serious voice.

“It means,” Nico stopped for dramatic effect. “That you suck.” Hades gasped. Nico cut in first.

“Just shut up on this nonsensical bullshit and...i dont know...give me your stuff?” Nico thought about it. It sounded really weird, but he wasnt going to take it back. After all, what other words were there that connotated the same meaning? The only other word was possess but the more he thought about it, the more wrong it sounded. Why would he go to Hades and be like “hey dad, possess me”? That was just plain weird.

Before he could say anything, however, he noticed the picking up of wind around him and in an instant, the surrounding shadows had him encased in a shield of darkness. Fear gripped him.

“F-father? What’s happening?” No answer. The swirling ensued. His hair looked as though ablaze and long tendrils of darkness snaked their way up his feet. A ghostly crown rested on his hair and he gave a sharp yelp and fell to the ground. The ‘taking’ of Nico di Angelo was completed.

No one found him.  
_

The next morning, rays of sunlight pierced through his shut eyelids. He cracked them open and tried to move his limbs. It was near to impossible. He turned his head and found a mirror, nearly fainting when he saw the reflection. He looked like...a god. He looked less exhausted than usual and his orbs were rimmed with gold light. His eyelashes remained the same, long and luscious, his nose, still dainty. His hair seemed to have grown overnight, now sprouting thickly like overgrown bushes. Nico sighed and reached for a scissors, which he did, but not before realising that not only were his hands leaner, they also seemed to have become paler. He grinned. This transformation sure was sweet. 

He took one last long glance in the mirror and took the scissors, chopping it back to its original length. 

“Well well well son, now my power’s in you. More like three quarter of my power but anyway, its a lot. I will be communicating with you via our minds but i cant control you. I also wont contact you unless you are in dire need as it may increase the chances of me being exposed and we’ll be exposed.” Hades voice boomed in his head.

Nico didnt know what to respond to that. “Um...thanks?”

“You do know that now, since you’re technically three-quarters god, you can think of a look you want to go for and it will be?” Nico facepalmed. Why hadnt he thought of that? He briefly shut his eyes and imagined his current self, but with his previous hair. And baam, he opened his eyes and before him, as his reflection, stood his imagination. He looked so...Nico-ish. Wait what? Where had that come from? Weird.

Hades, in his mind, sighed. “You do look good, but i suggest you dont change your appearance anymore. It will make it more unbelieveable when you try to explain it to Will and Percy and the others.” He could feel Hades sincere care for him and he basked in the warm soothing feeling of parental love. 

Nico smiled genuinely. Right now, he was just so happy his godly parent had done all this for him and felt so...pleased. Taking a deep breath, he uttered.

“Ti voglio tanto bene papà.” For a while, there was awkward silence, and Nico wasnt even sure if his father had heard him. He shifted his feet uncomfortably now, unsure whether or not to wait for a reply. Then, with slight hesitation, Hades replied softly.

“Anch’io ti amo figlio.”


	12. Chapter 12

“Anybody’s seen Nico? Holy shit where’s he gone to now? That idiot...Wait who the bloody hell is that?” Newt shielded his eyes from the glaring sunlight and squinted at the lanky figure a few metres in front of him. There, in all his glory, stood Nico di Angelo, wind blowing through his hair, sending them into the air like they were ablaze. He sent a two-finger wave in Newt’s direction but in the next second, he was clutching his head in agony, cursing and swearing under his breath. Newt rubbed his eyes, he wasnt sure if he had vision problems or whether Nico was really gleaming with a golden light and a faint ghostly crown sitting atop his head. Dragging a bleary-eyed Minho, he asked him to confirm his doubts. Minho had the same but more exaggerated version of Newt’s reaction. He gaped awkwardly as Nico ambled over to their side. Nico noticed the weird looks and quickly swatted away the crown. He shut his eyes and imagined himself without the ghostly crown on his head and as he expected, it disappeared.

“Woah, bruh. What happened to you? You look like you underwent some serious makeover. And what’s with the eyeliner and mascara?” Minho fired a series of questions, completely failing to notice that Nico was rather jumpy. 

“Later. Where’s Will? I urgently need to speak to him.” Sensing Nico’s urgency, Newt pointed to a far end of the Glade not many people knew about. Nico caught sight of a hunched over figure holding a little sketchpad. He seemed to be eyeing it fondly. He sprinted over to his side, not intending to shadow-travel. But with the heightened senses, he was unintentionally sent into the shadow realm. He gasped and silently cursed at his father as the felt the ghostly sensation stronger than ever. He felt himself being lured into the shadows.

“SON, FOCUS! Take this as a lesson. WITH MORE POWER COMES GREATER NEED TO HARNESS IT!” Nico quickly registered this information and felt his feet finally come into contact with the ground. Nico stumbled slightly and landed a few feet behind Will. Will, upon hearing the crash, spun around, sketchpad forgotten, and ran towards Nico to embrace him in a hug. Despite Hades’ mental protests, Nico sank into the hug and kissed Will on the lips.

“Oh Gods Will. i have so much i need to tell you, but not here. Somewhere more private.” Will tilted his head.

“There already arent any people here.”

“Yea but you dont know when they arrive.”

“Wha--” Nico cut him off.

“Follow me, amore. And please do shut up until we’re there.” Will frowned but heeded his boyfriend’s instructions and clamped his mouth shut. Nico knelt down and put his hands on the ground, sending a small ripple of shadows through them. Will looked at Nico was a displeased expression but he kept his word. Finally, he couldnt keep it in anymore.

“Nico, what in Hades are you doing?” Nico, for some unexplainable reason, grinned wildly.

“That’s exactly what im going to tell you, but first...i want to say im sorry. By the way, this is extremely out of context but i put a shadow sound barrier so no one can hear us. Anyway, over the past few days, i didnt spend as much time as i wouldve liked with you because i was too busy trying to prepare the Gladers for escape so we can get out faster. Sorry im rambling but i just wanted to say that i dont deserve you to love and stand by me even when i neglect you. Not that i want to break up with you but i...i just love you sosososo much and...i think you deserve this.” Nico looked to Will and suddenly, he wanted him so badly he no longer cared about who was looking at them or judging the, whether he wanted Will uppercase or lowercase. He reached over, touched his warm blushing cheek with his cold hand and began to kiss him on the lips.

When they came up for air, Nico felt Will’s hands on his waist and flushed a deep red. “I, uh, need to tell you something.” Nico mumbled as he looked down. Will removed his hands from Nico’s waist and tilted Nico’s chin up with two fingers. 

“Yes, babe?” Nico looked up worriedly.

“It’s H-harry. H-he doesnt have much time left.”  
_

“Wait so Hades decided to make you his heir?!” Nico gave him a ‘i-am-so-done-with-you look.

“No! For the thousand time,” Nico patiently explained. “He just gave me pretty much full reign over his powers. Do you understand now? This means that i wont exhaust myself as much and wont fade. I wont die...” Nico reassured, then thought about it. “...due to fading. I think i have a lot to spare, actually.” Nico caught the little tingle of relief flicker across his face just as it twisted into a frown.” 

Nico put a finger to Will’s lips. For a moment, Will looked so adorable. There was something sweetly shy about the way his eyes opened so wide then soften when Nico did that, his sapphire blue eyes, large, round and pure, staring deeply, perhaps lovingly, into his own chocolate brown eyes, locked in mutual contact for a few long seconds. Will’s eyes, his cute little nose, his freckles that looked like constellations hung high up in the night sky--all stared back at him. His facial features looked like they’d all matured but belonged to that of a young child’s. Will’s heart melted. People often celebrated the easy attraction of amethyst or gold or green eyes, but there was this certain depth to Nico’s warm chocolate brown eyes that one just couldnt get from lighter colours, but yet the way Nico looked at him made Will feel that his own blue eyes were special, even if half of the campers’ eyes were that colour too. It was mesmerising, and if only for a minute, Nico wanted to change his mind and forget about Harry, content to be with Will for eternity.

“Will, love, death, its inevitable. Everyone dies eventually. Its just like a game, a level we will all reach, the final stage. Some believe it is Elysium that awaits them, or heaven, as others might call it. The end of life is also the start of a new beginning. I gave you a choice remember, back in Hogwarts. I told you that my life was not a long one, as planned to be. Sometimes, i just dont get what’s it about death that many people shun. It’s just death. We’ll all get over it one day.”

Will held Nico’s gaze, unwavering. Blue met brown in a staring contest. “Well, if we’ll all get over it one day, then why are you working so hard to get Harry back? Has it ever crossed your mind that all this while, you have been contradicting yourself, never really stopping to think about the validity of your words?” He said that in a quiet tone, void of blame, but it held a hint of bitterness Nico had not picked up before. Nico was stunned into silence. 

“I...this...i-i…” Nico stuttered incoherently. Nico hung his head in shame. “I...i’m so sorry. I guess i never really thought about it, never really knew what it felt like to be in your shoes.” Will raised an eyebrow. Only then did Nico realise that there, below his boyfriend’s beautifully sculpted almond-shaped eyes hung dark eyebags, both lined with fatigue and rimmed with worry. Nico was crushed. He hadnt known what it felt like to be loved, but now he did. Looking at his self-sacrificing boyfriend, the truth that that four-lettered word hid behind it was not just a word, not something one could be in, not just a phrase cheapened from overuse. There, in that word, lay his heart, a heart was driven crazy by the very thing that encased it. In a spiral, as he jumped into the forever tightening loop of hugs and kisses, fights and quarrels. It brought about the much sought after feeling of warmth and care, to only be wavered by death. It was something Nico desired, owned, but yet loathed, and lost. Love was dangerous, a game to play, no longer for just a goddess to define and set in stone, but an experience. For some, it was perhaps, only for a night, others, for a lifetime. Nico looked up to Will in hesitation.

“You know that no matter what i do, i still love you right?” Nico’s heart skipped a beat as Will turned away. No. this couldnt possibly be happening. Then, just as Nico was about to grovel at Will’s feet to beg him to stay and totally disregard his dignity along with his self-pride, Will spun around and picked him up to rest on his shoulders.

“Of course Death Boy. Why wouldnt i? I love you more than anything in the world.” Nico’s heart melted, and at that point, he didnt know whether to smile or punch Will. Instead, he wriggled out of Will’s grip and hugged him tight. Then, he let go but left his hand in Will’s and together, they walked out to the open, free from the case of darkness and shadows, akin to putting behind their differences and leaving as one, to only be separated by death. And only then. 

Nico could hear Hades in the back of his mind leaning back and sighing at the romantic sight and he smiled. He tightened his hold on Will’s long fingers, leaning slightly against his warm body, losing himself to the calming sensation as heat rolled off Will’s body in tides. Drawing little circles in his palm, Nico smiled again.

“Will, you know you’re hot right?” Nico murmured into the soft folds of the fabric of Will shirt. Will chuckled and ruffled Nico’s hair playfully.

“Not now, Nico. Later, at night, meet you in the forest.” Nico reddened.

“I-i...what?” Will scoffed as he put a finger to Nico’s soft lips.

“And yes, i know im hot.”  
_

The first thing Percy noticed was that Nico had a fading crown on his head and little barely noticeable gold sparks swirling around him, almost like a gleam. He waved enthusiastically to Nico but he took no notice of him. Frowning, Percy advanced toward Nico but stopped when he saw that he was speaking to Newt and Minho in hushed tones. Or perhaps they werent soft, maybe Percy was just far away. Grinning at the silly thought, he continued crawling in his direction, only to bump into Lebron. Percy tilted his head in confusion. 

“What are you doing here?” If Percy didnt know better, he could’ve sworn he saw a blush flash across his face. But that redness was swiftly switched with one of disgust.

“Why shouldnt i be here?” Percy shrugged gently and returned to Nico and the duo’s conversation, except...they werent there.

“Schist.” Percy muttered under his breath and turned to Lebron. He had gone too. Percy facepalmed. He should’ve been keeping an eye on them, but then this little BEEP came and baam! They disappeared. Percy looked again and searched about the Glade with the swivel of his head. In the far distance, he saw Minho and Newt strolling about the grass patch, harvesting weeds and plucking out overgrown plants, talking as they went about. Percy turned thirty degrees to the left and found Lebron laying stomach down on the ground. Sighing, he made his way to Lebron’s right and looked in the direction he was staring at. His jaw went slack.

Will was talking to Nico in hushed tones with wide sweeping movements of his hand. Just as Will was about to become loud enough for Percy to properly hear what they were talking about, Nico cut Will off. Then came the most astonishing thing of all. Nico knelt and touched the ground with his hand, sending a translucent ripple of darkness through the ground. Percy perked up as Will started to talk again, knowing that he would definitely blow up if Nico used his powers. But, for some odd reason, there was no sound. No muffled words. Nothing. Nothing at all. Their mouths were still in motion, but nothing could be heard. Percy looked over to Lebron and wondered for a second if he was the cause of this, then he saw the same befuddled look on his face. Percy shook his head. It must have been the thing Nico had done before. Sending ripples of darkness into the ground to encase them in silence. He snapped back into reality. He saw a pained look cross Lebron’s face and he winced, a look of loss in his eyes. Perc turned back to the scene and saw Nico kissing Will sweetly and passionately, Will with his arm tracing its way up Nico’s waist. The two came up for air and Percy noted with slight embarrassment that Nico’s face was really red, a stark contrast from his pale olive skin. He heard a whimper from Lebron and he looked at him incredulously.

“You like Will?” Lebron made a face despite his heartache.

“No.” Percy raised an eyebrow. “Right… then you like Nico?” Lebron nodded tentatively, a coy smile working its way on to his lips. Percy could see the way his eyes lit up when he mentioned Nico’s name. Percy looked doubtful, an expression he barely made.

“I dont know, man. First off, you have really gotten on Nico’s bad side when you...let’s say, rebelled against him. Not exactly the best way to prove your existence in this world. Also, he holds grudges. Like it got so bad that he was proclaimed to have that as his fatal flaw. He’s toned down a bit after Will came along but like still...And, to add fuel to the fire, Nico’s in it deep with Will. You wont believe what i’ve walked in on them doing. Let’s not delve into that yeah. He is so gonna kill me if he hears about this. I am only telling you this cos i trust you, so dont misplace my trust, alright? By the way, i would advise you against blaming yourself for falling for that boy. He is the hottest boy in camp. After me of course.” Lebron looked so broken and crushed despite the chortle he let out when Percy said all that but what could he do? Percy was not one to stand by and watch one of his best friend’s relationship be torn apart by a single jealous boy. Percy saw that the two were coming out (pun intended) of the little sound bubble and he quickly dived into a bush, pulling Lebron with him.

However, with Nico, things never went the way hoped for. Nico stopped in his tracks and stopped Will along with him. He turned to Will and he gave Nico a firm nod. Percy peeked from a gap between the sticks and leaves and saw that Nico was not there. He grinned wildly and turned around to tell Lebron that the coast was clear.

“Lebron, it’s ti--AHHH!!! What the BEEPING BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP are you doing here? How the BEEP did you come here? Holy Hera!” Percy screamed madly at the sight of Nico’s face poking through the multiple layers of the bush. The buttercups below his chin illuminated his pale skin and there was a faint hint of gold in his eyes. His face shone with radiance that one could only dream of.

“Hey Percy, caught you in the act? By the way, this is possibly extremely out of context but you do know that the word you used instead of fuck? Well BEEP is only used when you want to shorten the word and mind you, ‘fuck’ and ’beep’ have the same amount of syllables. So my point is, you are wasting your time replacing ‘fuck’ with ‘beep’. Anyway...something really awesome happened to me. You know Hades? Yea well, he gave me three quarters of his powers so we have increased hopes of saving Harry quicker.” Nico said that all in one breath and now rested his locked hands on his bent knees, panting heavily. He took a deep breath and carried on.

“AND Harry only has four days left because Zeus has been lying to us cos he doesnt want us to go against the laws of nature by bringing back a dead person even though he technically also is but isnt when he summons lightning out of nowhere to kill my mom when it wasnt even raining at first. But anyway, Harry really needs our help quick and you and i are gonna have to pull all-nighters to teach these Gladers how to fight adequately.” Nico was breathing really heavily now but he managed a smile at Percy. Then, he stepped aside and walked away, just to come face to face with Lebron. Well, that was awkward. They were inches from each other, a small nudge and Nico would come crashing on top of Lebron and since Hades had told him about the crush, Nico had made a mental note to go out of his way to avoid Lebron at all costs. Nico could feel Lebron’s warm breaths against his cold cheek, now a deep red, and the air cooled many degrees. Probably had to do with Hades powers, which reminded him that he would need to learn to make use of Hades powers to his advantage. Damn. There went another whole lot of hours of much required sleep. Nico groaned internally. But as of now, he was in a terribly awkward position with Lebron unmoving in front of him looking as though he wanted to lean in for a kiss. To prevent any undesired accidents, Nico took another step to the left and turned back to hold Will’s hand, a subtle act but it was enough for Lebron to lose all hope of getting together with Nico. Nico smirked at Lebron’s crestfallen face, but he understood what Lebron was going through. Crushing on a boy he would never get. He briefly relived the time when he told Percy to dip in the Styx in hope of his unrequited love being reciprocated, but deep inside him, he knew it wasnt possible for them to be together. Nico softened his ice-cold smirk and placed a cold hand on Lebron’s shoulder, along with Hades’ assent.

“I-i...i know what you feel about me. But, i wont and cant be together with you, because, i’ve found the love of my life, the light that shone on me when i was in the dark tunnel. We have gotten off the wrong foot, but...it is possible to remain as friends.” Nico managed a small smile at Lebron. Lebron nodded, downcast, and in the spur of the moment, Nico pulled Lebron into a quick comforting hug. Lebron was supposedly stunned but then the tears came. He sobbed into Nico’s chest and his mutterings were muffled so much it was barely audible. At last, when it was near to Nico’s breaking point for physical contact, Lebron pulled away, wiping his tears with the back of his hand. It was rather gross, but then again, one couldnt possibly look very glamorous when crying.

Nico turned to Will and gave him a firm nod. He then looked towards Percy who bit his lip.

“Well, we dont want to be late for lunch now do we?” Percy shrugged and Will beamed at the thought of eating. Nico allowed a quick grin and he took Will’s hand. Will proceeded to take Percy’s hand who took a rather surprised Lebron’s hand and Nico took a deep breath, sending a prayer of thanks and appreciation for Hades for giving him these extraordinary powers.

Taking a step back into the dark inviting shadows, Nico looked to the ground and muttered.

“Shadows, to the open field of the Glade.” Just as they werre slowly fading, Nico mumbled again.

“And make it quick please. Will darling here wants to eat.” 

Nico grinned as the other three screamed in terror while the shadows seized them, suffocating them as they were sent squeezing through the tunnel of shadows.


	13. Chapter 13

They were sent plummeting through the shadows at a hundred miles per hour. All Nico could hear was the rhythmic pumping sound of each heartbeat and the other three’s screams fading into the background. He could also hear the faint instructions of Hades at the back of his mind telling him to focus and...he smiled. He pushed the snaking fingers of the shadows back to the depths of Tartarus and he peeled his eyes open to see the image of Newt’s face clearing and focusing. Nico immediately looked to his right and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Will beside him. He squeezed his hand lightly and pulled him to his feet, brushing the specks of dust and soil off his own black trousers. To his left, Percy was offering Lebron a hand, looking rather green himself. Minho gave Lebron a suspicious glance but Newt brushed it off, saying it was probably a coincidence that they were in the same area. 

Nico hastily stumbled over to Minho and Newt, accustoming to this new feeling of travelling. He had done this before, millions of billions of times, but it never really felt like this. It gave him much excitement, adrenaline coursing through the blood rushed throughout his little body. His chest heaved from lack of air, but there was still the presence of epinephrine that shone in his eyes and danced at the tip of his tongue. Nonetheless, he stood before the duo, excited to tell them the news. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead, there was this voice in his head.

“Son.” It was Hades. “Son, i have come to tell you that...i have to leave. I cant stay in your head anymore because i think Zeus is onto something. Dont hate me for this. I am doing this for both of us. I dont want you to be found out. Also, try not to tell so many people about these new...powers of yours. It would be easier for our secret to spill.”

Nico frowned. It would be extremely hard to hide his overwhelmingly cool abilities. But...he supposed if he didnt and Zeus found out, he would be sure to regret it. For all he knew, Zeus could just, with the flick of his hand, aim for a bolt of lightning to come crashing down on him and potentially killing him. Nico shuddered just at the mere thought of it. Newt stared awkwardly back at him. Just a second ago, Nico had been so pumped up to break some news to Newt yet now, he was opening and closing his mouth like a fish in water. Newt folded his arms. Was Nico going to tell him or not. Newt must have looked really annoyed for Nico seemed almost apologetic and mumbled an unintelligible excuse and turned away. Newt turned to Minho, who had a similar expression of bewilderment all over his face. Newt reached two fingers out to tap Nico on the left shoulder, but as if on instinct, Nico ducked out of the way and twisted Newt’s arm such that it pressed against his back. Nico frowned, then shied away.

“Oh, its just you.” Nico looked down at his two fingers and muttered a soft apology. Newt was puzzled. “Dude, you alright? You seem a bit...disoriented.” Nico stared at Newt, wide-eyed, then scowled.

“ ‘s nothing. I just...wanted to test...something.” Nico lied glibly. Newt raised a questionable eyebrow. Nico caught this hint of suspicion and quickly continued in hope of settling the little twinge of doubt in the boy. “Th-that’s right. I need to tes--to see, i mean, what you--sorry, what the Gladers deepest darkest fears are.” Beside him, Will shot him a look. Nico glared back and whispered for him to play along. Thankfully, Will got it and did so, nudging Percy at his side to do the same. Before Nico could even say anything to back up his flimsy tale, Will got to it first.

“Yes yes indeed. To better know the Gladers, which would make it easier for us to understand each other, we have both--Nico here and i--come to a consensus to let loose a boggart in the Glade. Boggarts--” 

“--wait what? Since when did i--” Will ignored Nico’s little protests and instead raised his voice so that he could be heard over Nico’s whines. For safety measure, he even clamped Nico’s mouth shut and held him firmly in his tight grip.

“--BOGGARTS are creatures that reveal one’s fears and through these, the Gladers cant even so much as try to lie about it.” Nico squirmed and wriggled out of his grasp for air. Nico huffed, annoyed, and turned away as if to show his defiance against Will’s story. Like really? A boggart? Nico was definitely not going to reach into a shadow and even more definitely not going to reach into one in Hogwarts to get a damn boggart. Nope. Not going to. Percy tilted his head and looked to Nico for help. Nico refused to meet his stare--anyone’s stare actually. Will smirked and inclined Nico’s chin to face Will. Nico stubbornly scowled, but he couldnt do it for much longer. He sighed and Will released his touch from Nico’s chin, knowing he had won Nico over. Oh gods, his gorgeous blue eyes and his adorable pout. Sometimes, Nico wondered if those two things were the only reason he actually agreed to get together with him.

Through forced opened lips, he muttered, “Yes its true, though i DIDNT SPECIFY HOW I WOULD DO IT.” Minho, despite sensing that something was slightly off about the tale, gave his assent.

“Okay...so it begins now?” Nico was just about to push it to the next day when Percy answered for him. “Yes. Nico will get the boggart while you assemble the Gladers here. Try to get someone to go up first okay? We dont want it to be terribly awkward later.” Newt nodded grimly and together along with Minho, they ran about the Glade, assembling the entire population of inhabitants of the Glade. Meanwhile, Nico was occupying himself by continuously slapping WIll’s hand.

“What is wrong with you?” Slap. “I cant summon a boggart!” Slap. “The Gladers would know my deepest fears then!” Slap. “A proper leader must never show weakness!” Slap. “Oh gods, i still cant believe you did such a thing!” Slap. Will winced at the end of each sentence along with the resounding slap as Nico’s cold bare palms met his own warm skin. Nico was red with anger, literally, his ears red at the tips and anger flashing in his eyes. He seemed to radiate anger and fear that was quite visible though Nico didnt seem to notice it. A red fog ring hovered slightly above the ground at Nico’s feet, growing in radius with each passing second. Nico kept advancing towards him, yelling about all the unfairness in the world and what a stupid idea it was to get a boggart. Will stepped back slowly, stopping only when he had reached a wall and he gulped, waving his hand frantically in front of Will to get a crazed Nico’s attention. Nico snapped and frowned at Will.

“What is it now, Will?” Will recoiled even further at the venom in his voice. He could only lift a trembling finger at the thickening fog surrounding Nico’s feet. Growling, Nico muttered disjointedly to himself but he stopped midway when he realised what Will was talking about. He raised two quavering hands to his mouth, shaking his head.

“Holy Hera, what is this?” Nico stared helplessly at the smoke became more and more opaque. Will gaped at the sight, but Percy remained calm.

“Nico, if im not wrong, this is your anger, which is...quite a lot actually. But anyway, to hopefully save yourself, you should...think happy thoughts i guess. Let your anger simmer. Like i always say, chill.” Nico could’ve possibly become even more triggered by Percy’s condensing words but he was desperate. He tried to ‘chill’, to calm down, and slowly but surely, the fog diminished, at so slow a pace that the four of them barely noticed it. Nico, upon the sudden recollection that Lebron was still here, gripped his two arms and asked Percy to use the mist on him so that he would forget whatever had happened. 

Everything? Percy had asked, and Nico had confirmed, though only after they had planned out a perfect cover story they would put in place of the blank spaces. Shrugging, Percy put both hands on the temples of the poor boy’s head, unhurriedly removing the unwanted bits of his memory and replacing them so that now, all Lebron knew was that

#1: he did NOT have a crush on anyone  
#2: he was in the forest at the same time Percy, Will and Nico were, but he was there for the sole reason of plucking flowers  
#3: he had rebelled against Nico because he was bored. NOT because he wanted to get Nico’s attention

Nico released his clutch on Lebron’s sides, watching him as he collapsed, only to later wake up with no real recollection of the day’s events, to carry on with life as per normal. Nico sighed as the boy fell with nothing to break his fall. He turned away even before Lebron touched the ground, his gut twisting at the absolutely horrendous act he had committed to this poor innocent hormone-filled teenager who happened to have a crush on him. He walked towards an opening from the bushes they were in. 

Just as he pushed past the sticks and leaves blocking his way, he accidentally caught sight of the pitiful unmoving being on the ground. Unable to contain it any longer, he whispered.

“Im so sorry.”  
_

The Gladers had already been assembled for about fifteen minutes and they were beginning to fidget impatiently. Newt and Minho, however, were starting to worry. Nico wasnt one to be late, under any circumstances, and even if he was that kind, there was Will and as backup, there was Percy. Their aimless pacing began, fretting about the whole thing. Then, they heard a rustle of leaves behind them. They instantaneously spun around toward the sound of the noise. Then, as if on cue, Nico, Percy and Will came stumbling out of the forest with twigs in their hair. Percy and Will looked hilarious, but Nico...far from it. He looked menacing, intimidating and...sad. He looked so broken, as though he had just performed an immoral act. Newt shook his head. He was probably over-thinking it. Nico always had that mask on anyway. Ridding his mind of these thoughts, he turned to Nico and gestured for him to begin. Nico picked up his head, and Newt flinched. There was this listlessness, lifelessness in his eyes, those peculiar eyes that bore deep into his soul, igniting his fears. Had Newt not known that Nico was going to call for boggarts to openly expose each and every one of their deepest darkest fears, he would have guessed that Nico would use his eyes. Newt looked about for Lebron, who was, apparently, absent. He shrugged. Probably being weird or whatever. 

With a sigh, Nico reached into a shadow directly behind him and brought out a boggart. The kid who had been told to volunteer himself first flinched back and recoiled. Nico, from the shape the boggart had taken on, saw flashes of jagged stingers and gory images of blood splattered all over. The kid, the same one he had knelt to teach proper fighting techniques, clenched his jaw so hard Nico winced. Despite his guilt, he felt this immense pride for the little Glader. He could not hae been older than eleven or twelve, which was rather odd as the others were in their teenage years. Once again, he saw the lovely bright blue eyes shining brightly from their sockets, now glistening with fresh tears. He took the near-hysterical child by the hand and led him away, telling Will to jot down that this boy was afraid of...well...death. Death that was...not via natural means. Will nodded and got the hint from Nico to carry on with the other Gladers. The child looked up at Nico and clung to his right arm, wanting only comfort. He looked surprisingly young and could have passed off as an eight-year-old except for his height that gave him away. They walked for a good few hundred metres before the boy spoke up, obviously calmed down by the time.

“You act just like mom.” The boys light voice reverberated around the room. Nico smiled awkwardly, not knowing how to respond to that. “She was the best ever...but i only remember loose bits and pieces of her. Snippets of conversations.” Nico shrugged, wondering how that was relevant, but continued leading him by the hand. He thought about his own mom, Maria, and tried to recall the little warmth of her hand in his. He thought about the lilt in her voice when she spoke to him, especially when she spoke with false joyfulness when she told him they had to move. Nico was soon jolted back to reality by the same childlike voice.

“Where are we going exactly? Im fine, really. I dont need you to babysit me.” The kid suddenly spoke with assertion. Nico didnt even so much as cast a glance in his direction this time. 

“You’re right, but this isnt for you. Its for me. I need a break.” The boy nodded slowly, taking in his words. Nico let go of the boy’s hand but the boy didnt leave. Instead, he stood still by Nico’s side. Nico turned to him, asking cautiously.

“Do you...think that we can really leave?” The boy shrugged. “Anything’s possible, i s’pose. Im Cody, by the way.” Nico nodded this time and looked at his skull ring, as though it would tell him the time. Nico soon smirked at the thought. How silly of him. He changed strategy and looked at the direction of the sun. He had probably been gone for a really long time as the sun was beginning to set already. He had needed a break, and he had got one, but it was time to go back to work. Nico sighed just at the thought. Exhaustion was seriously catching up with him. This way, by saving the world from utter corruption, he was wasting his youth. He would not be forever young, contrary to what salespersons and certain songs suggested (kpop fans out there?). Leaving Cody to stand and walk about the graveyard of the Glade, which was a weird place to leave a young boy, Nico trudged back to the open grass field where the demigods were.


	14. Chapter 14

Nico quickened his pace toward the open field, admiring the beautiful rays of colour the quickly setting sun had painted high up in the sky. Just as he was nearing the area, a random snippet of a conversation from many years ago came to mind.

"Nico? What do you want to do? You want to go out with your friends to learn to stitch? No no, darling, you're too young. Maybe when you're thirteen, babe. Wait til you're older, then Mamma will let you go out and have all the fun you want. But for now, come to Mamma and Mamma will teach you some basic stitching skills, okay"

"Really Mamma?" Nico queried.

"Yes amore. Come here and settle down." Nico had looked at Mamma earnestly and held out his pinky.

"You pinky promise that when i'm thirteen i cant go out and do stitching?" Mamma hesitantly wrapped her own pinky around that of her child's.

"Yes, Nico. Pinky promise."

Nico jogged back out into the open, relishing only for a second in the cool late afternoon breeze. He had probably been away for a really long time. Will caught Nico running toward them and waved to him. Nico waved back, though with less than a fraction of Will's enthusiasm.

"Hi." Nico began. "I left to comfort Cody." Will raised an eyebrow.

"Cody? You mean the first boy? Oh darling we are nearly done here!" Nico gave a one-shoulder shrug.

"So what's the situation like?" Will's excitement was gone in an instant. "Oh majority these poor kids are afraid of the Grievers killing them and their friends you know? The only exceptions are some people whose names i've forgotten. The exceptions have one common fear, the-"

"-unknown?" Nico finished jokingly. Will shrugged but smiled anyway. He then pointed at Newt and Minho, standing quietly by the side. "Those two are the remaining ones." Nico smirked.

"Kinda expected it anyway. Now lets just get this done and over with hm?" Will coiled his fingers around Nico's and nodded.

"Of course, sweetheart. Of course."

Nico sat on a moist log, cross-legged. Grass around him grew in thick, ankle-deep patches, akin to that of a horse's mane. Oak trees lined the edges of the Glade, the sun hitting the horizon at the spot just before it dipped below the walls. The last sun-rays kissed the tip of the walls, the pinks and purples all merging to form an ominous shade of grey, as though painting their bleak near-future. Next to him, Newt sighed softly as he bent over to sit beside Nico. Newt had just finished his 'testing', and was bored. He looked to his front and observed Minho as he cowered in fear of the terrifying image playing in front of him. Nico watched Will taking down notes and analysing the key points on a piece of random paper. Newt suddenly spoke to Nico.

"You really do like Will, huh?" Nico shrugged.

"Yea i do. He's a really nice person, but he's so easy for others to read, and sometimes, they dont have the best intentions you know?" Newt nodded as Percy settled beside them.

"Exactly." Percy joined in. "He's so busy looking inside other's hearts and minds to find the little good in them that he often leaves the knife in their hands unnoticed."

Nico sighed. "Then, he chides himself for the person even having the knife to begin with, and blames himself for being an easy and inviting target." That was exactly what worried Nico most about Will, his kindness and sincerity bubbling inside his warm loving heart. It was both annoyingly stubborn and exasperatingly naive of Will, Nico thought, for Will, a person who had seen so much death and suffering, to still have so much faith that everyone was as amiable and charitable as he was. It was something that sparked a fierce sense of protectiveness in him, and Percy and Newt too, it seemed.

"But we all know he isnt perfect. He has flaws, just like us. Though, after being his significant other for such a long time, i'm pretty sure his fatal flaw is probably something like being too caring or something along that line." They laughed stiffly, aware that Will could be listening on their conversation. But then, what did it matter? It was true.

Percy nodded absently, unknowingly fingering a tiny hole in the sleeve of his shirt. A Glader had over-reacted when faced with the boggart he had lashed out at it, though it dodged in time and Percy suffered at the end of the fist. Nico eyed Percy lightly tugging its fraying ends and Nico muttered.

"I can stitch that back for you later." Nico inclined his head toward the torn shirt. Nico's long lanky fingers tapping his thighs, knocking against the bones. "Remind me." This kindled a spark of curiosity in Percy and he inquired.

"Who taught you to sew anyway?" Apparently, that had not been the best question to ask. Nico's head snapped back up, his chocolate brown eyes like steel, cutting away at Percy's soul.

"I dont sew. I stitch." Nico said that as though it was very different, though truthfully, Percy didnt know that fine line that divided the two. As if Nico knew what Percy had been thinking, Nico snapped.

"Sewing is something one does to decorate, something recreational. I stitch to remember." Nico studied at Percy, waiting to see if he understood what he was trying to convey.

"My mom taught me. She said it would be a good skill for me when i grew up to use in the world." Nico finally said. "She said when i was thirteen, i could freely go out and stitch for others." Nico let out the breath he didnt realise he had been holding in. He chuckled, but it held no joy nor humour. "She was quite wrong there, wasnt she?"

Percy and Newt laughed along awkwardly, not quite knowing how to respond to that. Just then, Will came in to cut through the thick layer of tension hanging in the air. He slid into the space beside Nico and curled his fingertips around Nico's possessively.

"So...what'cha guys talking about?" That just set the tension back in. Surprisingly, it was Nico that diminished it this time.

"Oh nothing much. Just...some random stuff. Nothing important Sunshine." Will narrowed his eyes a little but didnt question further. He suspected something was up but as long as Nico was fine, all was good. Minho came up from behind them and pounced on Percy's back. He seemed to be recovering well for a person who had just undergone a horrible experience for the first time. He poked his head in between Percy and Newt to inform the cluster that campfire was going to start soon. They nodded and Will tugged at Nico's sleeve, encouraging him to join them. He nodded reluctantly, muttering that he had something to say anyway. Will pulled Nico into a loving hug, reassuring him that it will all be alright.

But deep inside him, he knew it wasnt.

And would never be.

Together, they walked side by side to the campfire. The fire had already started. It crackled in the dark, sending sparks of light flying through the air. It cast long shadows of the surrounding trees, twisting and turning to form odd obscure shapes that vaguely resembled its host. The fire itself was pulsating, glowing embers dancing along to the beat of the flame it held. It gave of warm hues of red and orange, reminding Nico only for a minute of his mother's same love she once harboured for him. Devoted love.

Even before anything started, Nico had already stood up to say something. He didnt want to spend more time than required at the campfire. With people. Lots of people. Nico cringed.

People stared at Nico, while he stared back at them. It began to seem hostile after a while. Will cleared his throat and Nico began testily.

"So…" Nico started.

"SomeimportantnewsbasicallywearesettingofftomorrowtoescapetheGladebecausethesoonerweleavethesoonerHarryissavedandhonestlythatsthewholereasoniamsohypedupaboutleaving." Nico rambled. The Gladers all simultaneously raised their eyebrows. They had not caught a single word of whatever Nico had just said.

Nico stuck out his tongue childishly at Will when he snorted. "I said, we are leaving tomorrow. No questions why and it is not open for discussion. Now goodbye i am done with you all here. Sleep early cos we are leaving early tomorrow in the morning." Nico turned to Percy. "And please get a change of shirt, Percy. I need to help you stitch it back remember?" Nico said stitch as though it was a hard sour lemon candy. Shrugging, Percy caught the shirt Nico tossed at him and made a quick job of changing into it, handing Nico his torn shirt as he left. Mumbling a small word of thanks, Nico trudged back into the shaded area and into the bathroom to get out his stitching kit.

He sat down on the floor and took it out and began to stitch, alone, in the dark, with no one to talk to.

All alone.

As always.

Thirteen years old, Maria said, and this was the first time he had actually even been given the chance to help someone stitch something. At fifteen. It was stupid, so damn stupid. He wasnt even sure he knew how to stitch the right way anymore. But he didnt care. He was old enough and this time, no one was going to be there to stop him. No one.

His mom always came back to him in flashes. Sometimes, it was her voice, a word or two. Other times, her charming smile, or perhaps, even a memory so real he thought maybe, just maybe, she wasnt really gone. It was like reliving it altogether. And now, all he could think of was that particular memory, that little part where she said the phrase, it repeated over and over again.

"Maybe when you're thirteen...Pinky promise."

Eventually, he finished up the long decent stitch and threw the needle across the room. He didnt think anyone would try to use it anyway. No one probably needed to. In this hatefully 'perfect' world. The shirt in his hands, he stood up and smoothed out the crumples in the shirt, putting back the kit in a random drawer. He stood in the bathroom, and turned his attention to the little faded old scars on his hands. He took the soap bar and rubbed insistently at the lines on his arm as though with persistence, the lines would disappear. He spent far too much time than he should have, and too much soap than thought possible and by the time he was done, he was crying.

Fifteen.

He didnt know what exactly brought it out. Probably the weight of the entire Glade resting on his shoulders. Each and every one of their lives depended on him. One minute he had been able to suppress it, yet unable to in the next. It felt like his chest had given up on him too, collapsed in on itself. He tried to take in a deep breath, but the air was too humid. His once-smooth hands found the pillar's musty grey tiles first, a moment before the rest of his body collapsed against it. He slid down it to the dirty white stone floor of the room, and pounded his hand against his head, secretly grateful for the noise of the loud rustling leaves and the strong winds that hid the sound of his tears falling like broken shards. Nico didnt want anyone to hear him much less see him, especially not the four. He was supposed to be a strong leader, no flaws or weaknesses.

It was so stupid, so so so stupid. Nico was fifteen, yet so what? So what if he hadnt seen his mother in the past seventy years? So what if his sister died while getting him a little something? So what if both died for him? So what if he never saw them again? Not like they even remembered him anymore either way.

Nico felt he should have been glad it was all coming to an end. That he was finally going to escape this hellhole and save his friend. But inside, he felt empty, so empty. He felt alone, and he wondered if he had always been, even when Will came along, and whether he would always remain that way-isolated, excluded, left out. The gale gave off a sudden blast of cool air, blowing against the shade the bathroom provided. It entered through the open window and slapped his cheek, numbing it in an instant. It didnt matter though-he barely even noticed it whipping his cold legs. His hands traced their ways up his arms along the old marks in his skin, but he couldnt feel that either.

Will had once told Nico that he needed to think of his life as three separate segments-the past, the present and the future. He held him in his arms and whispered into his ear to erase the first, pen the current down ink and write the last in pencil. So that nothing is set in stone, the future subjectable change, the past never to ever bother him, to live in the present.

Nico's ears now pricked up at the new familiar sound of sandals. There were slow footsteps pacing slowly toward him, tentative and hesitant, becoming more insistent when there was no response.

"Nico? Darling?" he heard Will's melodious voice say. "You okay?"

Nico hurriedly brushed his tears out of the corners of his eyes. He eyed the needle under the drawer in front of him and quickly snatched it, pretending to be extremely focused on helping Percy stitch. The nervous tone in Will's voice was enough to make Nico nervous. For a second, he thought something had happened. Clutching the stitched shirt in a hand, he unlocked the door and gave it a push such that he could just make out Will's tufts of blonde hair. The cold raging wind died down instantly and Nico felt his eyes slide up to look at Will's blue eyes. He had in one hand a stitching kit. Nico caught Will glancing at the scene in the bathroom over his shoulder and his lips formed a thin line.

"Is everything alright with the Gladers? Did something happen?" Nico asked Will. Will stared back, red creeping to the tips of his ears. "Will?"

Without any sort of warning, Will thrust the kit in Nico's direction. Nico looked down at it, hoping his face didnt betray his confusion.

"Didnt know whether you had one. Thought to pass you one, babe." Will shook it a little and tried tucked it nicely into his folded arms. Nico watched Will as a look of examination crossed his face when his eyes lay on Nico's scars for a second.

"I have my own." Nico replied. "I got mine from a tailor. Just have it, would you? I wouldnt want to think that i wasted my time coming here to find out that you have one on you already." Will looked near desperate now. "Please. Just take it even if you dont have it. As a token of love? Percy doesnt want his shirt to rip open again and he also said-"

"Nico," Nico heard Percy's voice from somewhere behind the slightly ajar door. "Just take the damn kit so this kid can stop putting words in my mouth. Do me a favour, please, and put this hopeless lovesick child out of his misery." This time, Will didnt wait for Nico to respond and shoved it onto the counter, right beside the sink, looking rather abashed as he did so.

"Uh...thanks Sunshine," Nico replied, unsure.

"Nice-i mean, that's cool. See you tomorrow morning?" Nico nodded. "I'll be awake by sunrise. Make sure the team is too. Love you. 'Night." Will beamed happily. Nico didnt know if he was supposed to wait for a reply so he just stood there awkwardly. Will picked up on this and cleared his throat to leave.

"Okay, great. 'Night, love." Will answered after a while and turned to leave. Just as he was about to step out of reach, Nico grabbed his sleeve and kissed him, muttering a phrase along the lines of goodnight. Will touched Nico's cheek lovingly one last time and held it there, then left without another word. As Nico shut the door and turned to the kit Will had passed him, he heard Minho and Newt's voice.

"See? What did we tell you? He's fine. Are you happy now? Oh right, we need to tell him to return Percy's shirt to him tomorrow. Could you tell Nico to hurry with the stitching? He needs to sleep too and Percy needs the shirt too" Nico heard Will's footsteps returning and before he had the chance to even knock, Nico had opened the door and tossed the stitched shirt at Will, silencing him with a single look. He saw Will open his mouth to say something, probably an apology, but Nico got to it first.

"I'm fine, really. I dont want to talk now. Please. J-just leave me alone."

And Nico, without another word, shut the door in Will's face and felt the tears escaping him along with loud, high-pitched screams, only to be muted by the same slapping wind across his cheek.


	15. Chapter 15

Nico stuffed the last of his clothes into a duffel bag and slung it over his shoulder carelessly. He was packing for the next day. It was, Nico guessed, near to midnight. Everyone had retired to their sleeping quarters for the last time. Just six more hours to escape, six more hours to train, to get the hang of the new abilities to use them to his advantage. Nico took one last glance at the mirror in front of him, and he studied himself. A wreck. Two words to describe the effect of the past five hours spent crying in the bathroom. If Nico looked closely enough, he could still make out the fine red lines that rimmed the orbs of his eyes, little fingers crawling toward the centre. His hair stood straight up, sprouting in every direction. For no particular reason at all, a short conversation between him and Will sprung up from the back of his mind.

It was about two months or so ago, they had been sitting high up on the tree in camp. It was a calm, breezy day, the perfect epitome of a typical day in summer. They had been dating for three months already then, and things were working out well. Suddenly, Will had turned to Nico and cupped his face with his baby-soft hands.

"You know you're beautiful right?" Nico had turned away from Will.

"No, i'm not. I dont have a lovely shade of hazel or almond brown hair like that of an autumn hair, nor are my eyes even near the sweet colour of spring." Will looked into Nico's eyes some more, and he answered.

"No, no you dont. Because you dont conform to cater to the general audience's definition of beautiful. Your eyes are a pretty chocolate brown that gives off a warm homey glow. Your jet black hair gives one the sense that you are effortlessly stunning, nothing like Drew, that try-hard. You may not fit with the world's standard's of attractive or gorgeous, but you fit with mine. Your beauty is so one-of-a-kind that no words, shapes, or colours can perfectly capture the simple beauty i am taking in now. You are my type of beautiful, my angel."

Nico had smiled graciously at the compliment, and lightly hit Will on the hand for being cheesy and corny, but all was forgotten after that.

But it surfaced now. Nico let the bag fall from his shoulder and slide down his back, landing with a thud on the floor. Nico stole a peek at the mirror again, and he couldnt quite understand what Will found so unbearably adorable about him. He inched closer to the piece of glass. He raised his right hand and fingered his reflection in the mirror, tracing his outline and mentally noting down all his flaws. He stopped midway, and stared at his mutilated arms for a moment. And another. He removed his touch from the mirror and eyed them with a shaky unheld gaze. He slowly wrapped his arms around his body protectively, rocking back and forth. He had this feeling he'd soon be driven crazy, insane. Perhaps, one day, he would really turn into the monster everyone labelled him as. Maybe, just maybe...no. He could not afford to waste time on this. No more self-pity. The nights spent secretly crying in the bathroom behind everyone's backs would end here. Once and for all. He would emerge a strong man, a brave warrior, a worthy leader.

But that's what he told himself every single time.

Nico shook his head furiously, irked by his own treacherous thoughts. He bent, waist-up and picked up the bag once again, and slung it over his shoulder, but somehow, this time, it was with much more intention. The sleepless nights were catching up with him, he thought to himself. He ambled over to the field and contemplated waking the demigods to get them to train. No, they needed rest, he told himself. Much more than he needed it. But it wasnt fair...Nico groaned. This was exactly why he was always dead on his feet. Often, it wasnt that he didnt want to sleep. He tried to sleep, but thought kept getting in front of him, haunting him for hours on end. Other times, when he did finally get some sleep, it was filled with nightmares.

Nico steadied himself slightly as he shook off the blurry vision flooding into his line of sight. It cleared, but no more than a few seconds. He dug about in his bag for a little square of ambrosia, careful to divide it up to even smaller pieces. Just enough to get rid of this shit in front of his eyes. It worked, and Nico immediately felt guilty for wasting ambrosia like that. He resolved to train even harder then.

Loosening up his tense muscles, he shrugged his shoulders and tilted his head this way and that, relishing in the satisfying sound of cracking knuckles. For the thousandth time that night, Nico hesitated. He drew his sword out and halfway, he paused. Perhaps, he should go to a place where there were less people to train? This way, he wouldnt wake or disturb the Gladers. Nico exhaled heavily and fisted his right hand to tell the shadows to bring him into the forest. In seconds, there was the same tightness in his chest, but he no longer felt the excitement with the exhilarating ride. Nor was there the same rush of energy he experienced deep down to his bones. It had changed. It was now no more than a dull gush of wind through his hair, a convenient way of transport. Nico ran his fingers through his mangled hair, using more and more force when it reached a knot. Maybe it really was time to cut it.

Nico shook away his disillusionised thoughts. He would get some sleep after Harry was saved. Yes, he would. But for now, he peeled open an eye and saw a perfect target. There, in front of him, stood a comparatively short tree, only a few inches on him. Nico was about to slash at it with his sword, then he remembered that he had to train his powers. Dammit.

Nico brought a limp hand to a few centimetres from his face and tried to summon a continuous heated flame of ghost fire. Not only that, but it had to be perfectly blended with a tinge of hellfire. This, he recalled, Hades had claimed to be the most dangerous and damaging type of fire. He looked at his hand closely, as though to examine it, squeezing out the most his energy could offer. A spark of light shimmered no longer than a fleeting second, then died down as quickly as it appeared. Nico let out a grunt of annoyance. He glared at his hand again, forcing the little flame out again. Beads of sweat rolled down his temples and his hand shook. This time Nico yelled in frustration. He slapped his hand, again and again, not stopping until it turned slightly purple. He sat down on the ground now, shoulders shaking a little, convulsed in sobs. He hit his head again the tree bark, silent tears streaming past his open mouth, contorted to form words that never came out.

Why, just why, couldnt he conform to what others wanted of him? Why couldnt he? He hated it, all of these failed expectations, disappointed side-glances, lowering standards. Why couldnt he look like a magazine cover model, so Will didnt have to find excuses to make up for his imperfections? Why couldnt Percy just have loved him in the first place? Why, why, why...Nico looked at his hand again, full of hatred. He tried again, repeatedly, but he just couldnt get it. Maybe this was why Hades preferred Bianca over him, why Maria decided to abandon this pathetic child of hers, why Bianca left to join her too.

Nico stood up shakily with trembling limbs. He had to prove that Hades hadnt kept the wrong one, the wrong child to live to pass on this legacy. He led his hands to his damp eyes and brushed away the crusted tears. He didnt know if they were from hours ago, or minutes ago anymore. It mixed in too much, too confusing. He steadied his breathing and levelled it like an expert. He had much experience with it. He crossed his left arm across his chest and rested his right heavily on it for support. He glanced at it, more like glared at it. Gave it his best death stare. And all of a sudden, the flame came to life. The flame was small, curling at the tips of his fingers, like a ping-pong ball dented slightly. It gave off a cold whitish glow, as though it was the moon in the night. It had a little, near unnoticeable hint of grey wisping and twirling around the main ghostly flame. The flame flickered vulnerably like a normal flame, except it wasnt affected by the roaring wind in the background around him. The flame was dying, and Nico fought against it feebly, but he succumbed to the energy loss. Nico wiped away at his sweat-lined forehead and let go of the breath he hadnt known he had been keeping in.

"That was rough." Nico mumbled under his breath to no one in particular. He scrunched up his nose and wrung his sweaty hands on his shirt. Then, he worked at the same trick again. Ghost and hellfire, a deadly combination. Typically, just one shot at the enemy could do the trick and it would disintegrate into flakes of gold confetti. This time, he got it more quickly, and it lasted a whole two seconds longer, but the build up felt like ten full minutes. With a smirk that seemed to darken the entire Glade a whole shade, he practised again. But he only truly found the trick to it on about the thirteenth time, which was nearly a good half hour later. Hellfire and ghostfire only came together in a perfect mix when the beholder was at peace. Not necessarily out of anger or joy, but when his thoughts were clear, pure and clean. Not that it hadnt been originally pure or clear, just that there had been too many things going on in his head.

Nico leaned back with satisfaction as he now held the flame with ease in his hands. A certain sort of satisfaction, having completed a deeply, passionate, needed action, expressed with a deepening arc playing on his soft lips and a youthful, wilful, expression worn on his face, as he watched the little flame dancing and prancing about, jumping systematically from finger to finger. He lazily pushed himself away from the tree and thought about the next stunt he should learn. He didnt really know many tricks apart from those he usually used, and those his father used...thats right. He should use his father's tricks! After all, he had gotten his power for a reason. To use them. Duh. the only reason he didnt perform these before because he was physically limited. The blood that ran through his veins now was seventy-five percent ichor, no longer the full red blood anymore.

He put a thoughtful finger to his chin and let his thoughts wander for a while. Almost always, when he let his mind have full reign, it drifted to Will, and this time had been no different. How was it that a single thought could bring back long-lost and long-buried emotions? It was a queer thing to know. In that few moments he let his mind lead him, iages of Will's goofy smile and the way he used to kiss Nico so sweetly and purely. Sometimes, Nico felt that a quick innocent kiss on the lips made left a much deeper imprint in his mind than a full night staying up in the Hades cabin doing gods know what.

Nico felt himself chuckle, but quickly masked it with a look of neutrality despite there not being anyone in the distance at all. He relaxed and loosened up slightly. The jitters had finally gotten to him, but he knew-no, hoped-that the Gladers would be safe enough with the dark flame in their souls. Nico sighed softly, now thankful he hadnt overreacted previously earlier in the evening when Newt and Minho made those remarks. The darkness was probably getting to them. At least they would survive to be mean. Nico smiled under the illuminating moonlight. He'd better get back to work, else knowing himself, he wouldnt anymore if he didnt start now.

Like right now.

Nico sighed and got back to work, upset that this little victory was just a single milestone.

Of the many he would have to reach one day.


	16. Chapter 16

Nico's eyes travelled about the Glade as he wondered what he should learn for the next few hours he had left before dawn. The stars were certainly fading away, bit by bit, chipping away at the little time Nico had to train. Maybe he really should get Percy up at least. As one of the Big Three, he would best understand the troubles he was going through right now. But two things stopped him. The unannounced awkward moment earlier and that Percy should sleep. The only reason he didnt think to wake Will in the first place was because he knew that Will was having his own troubles, and well...it wasnt a pretty sight to see Will walking around like the walking dead when morning came. Will never really could stay up and burn the midnight oil. It was more of a Nico and Percy thing. Nope. Fine. Maybe just Nico. But still…

Shut up, get back to work, Nico mentally chided himself. He seemed to have an even shorter attention span nowadays, and he had no idea what this was attributed to. He shook his head and continued his idea hunt. An idea came to mind.

Perhaps he should learn how to do one of his father's most acclaimed tricks-raising dead legions to fight for him. Easy, he had thought at first, but then he realised that he had to raise them without the monsters finding out or the element of surprise would be absent. Nico mulled over this carefully. Of course, to raise a dead legion so quietly would be near impossible, but he would have to try. He decided to start with a small creature first, perhaps just a kitten...Divine. He had left his cat Divine in the Underworld for safekeeping after the war ensued at Hogwarts. It should still be there now, as long as Hades hadnt gone to sent it to the surface. Hades liked to send Divine to haunt mortals or give them a cardiac arrest so that those who had delayed their death arrive the next day before him. Divine had accepted the job with much joy and had never failed him. Nico glanced at the pitch dark sky. It was probably too late for Hades immerse himself in this revolting hobby of his.

Nico, slyly and cautiously, imagined the layers of soil dragging apart an inch at a time, making sure not to so much as snap a twig or touch the brittle leaves on the ground as he shut his eyes. He opened his eyes a small fraction, and saw a skinny cleanly cut line in the ground, just enough for a tiny creature to emerge from. Nico's sharp eyes zoomed in on a small paw clawing at the ground. Crouching slightly, he beckoned Divine toward him, but Divine paused, just as she was about to get out of the creak, and she licked each of her paws, so slowly it was driving Nico insane. Finally, when her paws had gotten the pedicure it deserved so much after sending about a thousand souls to their deathbeds, she climbed out tentatively, shooting a glance at every direction, then trotting slinkily toward Nico.

"For the love of-whatever. Divine, could you walk faster? Like seriously, if you need a pedicure so bad, you really could've just asked one of the stray kittens down there to came in lieu of you." Divine flashed him a crossed look.

"You think i didnt tell you dad that?" Nico shrugged. There was a reason why he had said that. Divine deadpanned.

"Well, i did, thank you very much, and all i got was," Divine paused and cleared her throat, nearly scaring Nico out of his skin when she began to impersonate Hades. Pretty well too.

"My son needs you, and yet," Divine made a typical Hades-slamming-the-armrest-of-his-throne movement. "here you are telling me your little paws are important?" Divine stopped her imitation. "So, here i am." Nico nodded mutely with unsaid words of thanks for both the feline creature and his father. Divine sent him a withering look.

"So, what is it you request for? Besides asking me to come up to the surface, quietly, may i emphasise, of course?" Nico flushed red as he struggled to find the words.

"Uh…" Divine stared at him, waiting for an answer. "Uh…" The tension was getting more and more awkward with each humming sound he made.

"Nothing?" Nico said, coming out more like a question. He was actually scared shit of the cat. She could get real angry when she wanted to. But with his father's status, Divine wouldnt dare do anything. Hopefully. Nico grinned. Brainwashed, though it may seem, but in actual fact, Nico was quite pleased to have a physical state of matter that was scary or worthy of fright to appear in front of him after most of his nightmares were about Maria, Bianca, and those golden-powder brain-dead organisms. Divine growled unhappily but it politely took its leave, though only after some inaudible mutterings.

Great. That had gone way better than the Underwordly fire disaster. But that had only been a cat. Cats tend to be more...demure. Maybe he should call for a hellhound instead. Preferably one he was familiar with or likely to use. Better still if it was a skilled fighter and had a bond with Nico. it all fell into place in Nico's mind. Of course he would call for none other than...

...Cerberus.

Nico put two fingers in his mouth and whistled softly three times, each interval two times longer than the previous; that had been a secret code between Nico and Cerberus. Not even Hades knew about it. Nico wiped his palms on the slightly moist fabric of his pant leg, wishing that Cerberus had gotten the message to be quiet. It was partially due to the mission but also because he didnt want Hades breathing down his neck and firing questions at him as to why he needed Cerberus. As far as Nico knew, Cerberus was the only creature Hades actually truly loved, though he wouldve also included Divine if Nico had been the asker. Nico shook his head; sometimes it seemed that Hades would go so far to please and pamper Nico such that he felt so so so so so weirded out.

But Nico didnt have time to think before a giant chasm split open in the ground. Shit. That made a bit of noise. Tolerable level though. As of now, that is. Nico rushed forward to hush the creature and after a lot of begging and pleading (and a bit of bribery but nobody saw that), Cerberus gave in and clamped its mouth shut. Alas, Cerberus took one huge step out of the creek and Nico practically went on his knees to beg him not to stomp around. Not here at least. Cerberus flashed him the goofiest doggiest grin ever, so innocent, that Nico's heart melted like chocolate. Nico could just forget about the usual irritable, cold-hearted persona and devote all his love to this majestic creature. But even before Nico could say anything, Cerberus had quietened down and sat its royal bottom down, waiting for a command.

At around 32', Cerberus stood at twice the size of a mammoth, its blood-red eyes bearing holes at other's backs. It was, all in all, a large magnificent three-headed semi-transparent rottweiler dog, more commonly known as the Hound of Hades, though Nico liked to think he and Cerberus were closer than it and his father. When it smiled, it looked more terrifying rather than the usually associated meaning with its razor-sharp teeth and the gobs of saliva constantly overfilling its mouth and dripping from its chin. However, those who knew Cerberus well enough could tell that it was actually really docile, nothing like what clear-sighted mortals described him as. He loved rubber balls and sweet sugar cakes, especially those with cream and frosting between the layers of soft sponge (A/N: i sound like im teaching someone how to assemble a cake :D). The only contesting point was that Cerberus was on good terms with Persephone, but ever since they made up, the two were more complying with each other and despite what Nico wouldve said, it was mostly due to Cerberus that the two patched up and put aside their many differences.

Cerberus lowered its three mighty heads and rested on the ground, exhausted and deprived of sleep. Nico felt a pang of guilt, calling all these sleepy creatures in the middle of the night because he wanted to train. Nico pursed his lips. The noise Cerberus had made was not as little as Nico had hoped, but it was better than it sounding like a herd of elephants decided to come to town in stilettos. Shrugging, Nico reminded himself that monsters were brainless mindless idiots in the first place anyway, so they'd probably mistake the noise Cerberus made for some really loudly swaying trees.

Waving Cerberus away gently, Nico slumped against a tree. Seeing that the sky was beginning to brighten already, he guessed he had two hours left, max. What should he learn now? How should he make the most of the next two hours before he went around telling Gladers to get up? More like yelling in their ears, but like…whatever.

Countless ideas trundled through his whirling mind now like a bullet train, with no intentions of stopping. But there were too many, and too little time. He would have to settle for the most usable and feasible two. One for the first hour and the other for the next. Nico consolidated all his thoughts and mentally penned them down. First, combat. He could definitely do with some brushing up and refining of his rusting skills. He did not have a proper chance to practise with someone his equal and there surely weren't any such bodies that were, but rock hard trees and stubbornly prickly bushes were about as annoying most monsters could get. Okay so combat practice for the first hour. Now...what to do in the next? Hmm...maybe he really should get some sleep in the remaining amount of time. No. Shorten rest time to thirty minutes. That way, he would get to practise more. Nico nodded with affirmation. Yes. He could do it. Just two more hours and...showtime. Nico sighed just at the idea of finally leaving. He had spent sixteen days there already-no, counting that current day, it was seventeen (carats out there?). Nico forced down the invisible lump in his throat and gulped. But that didnt mean Nico wasnt excited. With each passing minute, Harry was inching closer and closer to revival. Though that made Nico wonder; why was Harry's death so unacceptable for him? Why hadnt even Bianca's death driven him to do this? Nico sighed. Probably something to do with his fatal flaw. Which reminded him...he needed to tell Will something. He had made a new discovery. Something that would change everyone's perception of children of Hades. But he would have to find the most opportune time to tell him. Or all he would get was a fainted, unconscious, boyfriend, limp in his arms, from the shock of it all. Nico felt a tug at his lips as he thought about it. It had shocked him too, when he found out. But he hadnt told anybody. Not yet.

A wild grin spread across Nico's face, perfectly masking the drowsiness inside him. He widened his stance and shut his eyes such that the leafy trees were replaced with faces of his most hated people. Nico grinned and slashed at the 'Zeus' before him. He could almost see the contorted face of outrage and his thunderous (pun intended) roar as the shortest and stubbiest tree fell next to him. Nico took a small step to the left and looked for his next target. The bush seemed to even cower under his piercing gaze. Nico narrowed his eyes as they landed on a target. Nico smiled mildly, with increasing excitement, as he perceived the new 'monster'.

Why why why...none other than the well-known and much feared God of war.

Ares.

Nico smirked as he cut off his head with the whirl of his sword. Somehow, it seemed to have become more powerful after the power-increase happened to Nico. It helped the sword work way better, and as he trained, it became more and more evident that slicing off Gods' heads were about as simple as chopping parsley.

Nico continued with his training til around an hour or so later. The sky was considerably bright already, and Nico would only be able to have a little sleep before Will or Percy shook him awake. Nico forced his eyes open as he shuffled back semi-blindly to the hammock beside Will.

As soon as his head touched the fabric, he went out like a light, into the inviting realm of sleep, wondering when was the next time he would enjoy this simple pleasure of life.


	17. Chapter 17

Nico woke to violent shaking and he gasped. His eyes flashed open with a start. His confused heart thumped in quick

haphazard beats. There was a buzz in his head that he just couldnt shake off. It was like a short circuit running through him, only he was the flat battery, fatigued from the little sleep he'd managed to get. Glaring rays of sunlight pierced through his half-opened eyelids. He was still in the tight clutches of sleep's hold, but he got up anyway and rubbed away the traces of sleepless nights from the corners of his eyes.

"Is it past sunrise yet?" Nico asked, his words slurred from exhaustion. Will pursed his lips.

"Just in time, darlin'. Had you not woken up from your slumber, i'd have let you sleep for another day." This caught Nico right off the bat.

"Wait-what?! How long have i been out for?! Why did you let me sleep? Now Harry's gone and its all my fault!" Nico buried his face back into the woven fabric below him. Behind him, he heard Will's soft laughter.

"Babe, you've not slept for more than a day, i can assure you that, though i would very much like to know how long you intended to sleep for." Nico flipped around such that he was now facing Will. He found himself, rather, staring back at not just one face, but two.

" 'sup Nico." Percy waved two fingers at him. Nico groaned at turned back down again, only to return to see their two faces.

"Will, amore, please use your language more precisely could you?" Nico muttered. Will shrugged and stepped aside for Nico to get up and moving. Nico got up with Will's supporting hand and he walked toward the bathroom to freshen up, tripping over his own two feet multiple times.

"Hey," Newt called after him from his side. "You okay?" Nico nodded dumbly and stumbled into the bathroom. He could hardly see more than two metres in front of him clearly. He rubbed his eyes and did his stuff. When he was done, he looked at the mirror, and as he left, he made sure to do a good job of leaving it in smithereens.

Nico wrung his hands again, and this time, Will came over to hold them in his. Slowly, Will released them, and Nico returned to his fretful state. Will began to seriously doubt if they should really go along with the plan seeing that Nico looked like he was going to fall into the tight grasp of a panic attack. Nico paced up and down the little path along the Glade, biting his lips in anxiety. Will forced Nico to sit down, but even when he did, he started rocking back and forth, his eyes wild with nervousness. A million reasons why he shouldnt have even initiated this mission clouded his head, and he started rambling. Words stuck to each other like gel, some missing, some here and there. His fears begin to voice themselves, but Will couldnt get more than one word in what he guessed to be a sentence. His white-knuckled fingers grab Will's and he repeatedly asked whether it will be okay. Will nodded passively. Nico tended to worry excessively before such adventures, but he had never been so worked up before. He looked near to be reduced to tears. It was only then that he realised how much stress Nico had been under during their stay here and he immediately regretted not sharing the burden like couples should. Will sighed and let Nico lean on his shoulder. Nico's breaths drew in short shallow gasps, and his face was sweating like crazy. When Will asked if he was okay, Nico could barely answer, only capable of shaking his head slowly. Will let a little healing power seep into his hands and watched carefully as it was passed over to Nico. Nico smiled slightly as he felt a warm soothing sensation suppress the nervousness, calming his jittery nerves.

He stood on his two feet and waved off the Gladers' attempts at asking after his health. Nico knew that with each day he pushed himself, his mental health deteriorated steadily. The last time he checked with Hades, he had said that if he did not take a break from this life soon and for long enough, he would end up in an asylum like the other of his few children; driven crazy. Nico, safely put, had recoiled at the thought. He would take a break after this. Unless someone desperately required his help. Nico gathered the energy to chuckle at that, though it was low and breathless.

Once again, he reassured Will and told him he was okay, resolving to smacking both Percy's and Will's heads to get it in their heads.

"I'm. Fine. Oh Hades, what do i need to do for you to be assured?" Sure, he had a near panic attack, but so what? Its not like he was the only one in the world to have it. At least he cared enough about saving his friend to panic. Nico shrugged at no one in particular and waited eagerly for the maze walls to move apart. Anytime now. Behind him, apprehensive Gladers took to their running stances.

A loud rumbling signalled the beginning of the movement of the walls. Nico blew out a huge ball of air and wiped his hands on his jeans. In the front line, Percy and Will stood beside him, Newt and Minho on the left and right of both of them respectively. The walls parted an inch at a time, triggering Nico's adhd. Finally, the wall's were wide enough for them to charge.

And so in they went.

From wandering around the carefully constructed patterns of the maze, Nico was convinced that it wasnt really just a maze. It was a labyrinth. (Labyrinth=one exit, one entrance. Maze=multiple exits and entrances) The walls were an impenetrable dark grey stone, covered with moss and towered a good twenty feet above them. Wherever they went the walls stretched away from them as far as the eye could see. Unless there was some trickery with unseen mirrors they were miles deep in a labyrinth of unending passageways with no memory of what way they came from. As the light of the day dwindled into twilight and threatened to die altogether, they heard a great savage howling from somewhere in the maze. Then with a deafening grinding noise that shook the hard baked earth, the walls of the maze themselves started to move. Nico's heart skipped a beat. The walls were changing shape. If they didnt look carefully, they could easily be separated. Speaking of which...Nico whipped around. The passageway they were in begin to compress against each other.

"RUN! (army out there?)" Nico screamed. They all seemed to wake with a jolt and they sped forward on instinct. For the next few moments, the only thing Nico could hear was the rapid pulsing of his heartbeat as his lungs contracted and expanded. They only made it out in time. Nico did a headcount to check.

"Chuck?"

"Here."

"Gally?"

"Here." Nico kept his hopes in check.

"Will?"

No answer. Nico turned to his left. Oh God. Where was Will!? Nico called out again, but there was the same response, or rather, the same responselessness. Panic begin to build up inside him like the impenetrable walls of the maze. He gulped and his breaths came out as shuddering gasps. He sought to the next option. He sent a prayer to his father to tell him to try to tell Will to go forward and that they would look for him. But a deep trembling of the ground propelled Nico to continue onwards. If his prediction was right, the team on the left with Will included had been separated from them. At least Percy was here. He took a deep breath though it came out as a trembling heap of air. Fighting back tears, he herded the remaining Gladers together and tasked Percy to the rear to push them on.

The walls changed some more, but they were more prepared now and together, they dodged them. Nico looked toward the darkened sky. One day down. Two more to go. He-no, they-would not sleep. They knew the more time they wasted, the chances of escape decreased. They went on, but Nico's mind was not there, and it was obvious. His thoughts were somewhere else, revolving around Will. His ears perked up whenever he heard someone call his name, but it was always just a Glader's complaint, or Percy snapping him back to reality. Nico had travelled far further than he knew, yet the passageways still stretched as far as he could see in every direction. It was as if it grew longer during the night, and as if in the blackness it ate up his fears and used them as fuel. He had stopped fearing monsters and adversaries, his enemy was dehydration and fatigue. It was a thoroughly boring way to die. Perhaps Will was still in here, perhaps Hades had conveyed the message. He closed his eyes in silent prayer, "Dad, let him be safe on the outside and let me find a way out."

The darkness had dwindled to a barely perceptible lightening of the gloom. Each wall of concrete was identical to the next without an identifying factor of any kind. Standing in what could be any part of the labyrinth, Nico realized his folly. He had been so certain he could escape easily with no monsters after them, that he would be in and out in half a day or less. There was no reason that left would be better than right, or ahead better than doubling back. He considered sitting until dawn, but who knows what would come when he was made blind by the night.

He never got the chance to consider the options as he heard the throaty raspy cry of a familiar creature no more than a few feet away. But it was dark and the Gladers could barely see in front of them clearly. Nico mustered his strength (and will to live) as he lightened the shadows immensely.

A string of curses unraveled from his tongue, like yarn unfurling, as the creature advanced. It's golden scales shimmered with hot anger along with it's dark, cold, mechanically-structured eyes. Every step it took rattled Nico's bones and struck his heart. Percy beside him desperately tried to take in the build of the monster. The creature snarled and snapped. He tried to dodge a swing from it's massive claws, but it struck his side and he tumbled into the dirt. He could hear nothing. All was silenced; the yells of the Gladers, the hisses of the creature, all inaudible. All he could do was feel. The cold ground pressed against his form, the stinging sensation from the pain, and the rhythm of the rapid heartbeats that would signal his end. He looked upward into the stars. He fought valiantly, and he prayed that his ancestors would accept him and take him home. But he never got his wish.

Percy offered a hand to his right and Nico stared at him glassily for a while, then brought his arm up to meet his. He held it in a firm grip and hoisted himself up to face the creature up. He turned to Percy and he returned it with an affirming nod. Their eyes did all the telling they needed. It was a drill they never trained, something based on pure reflex. In three...two...one.

Nico gave a cry and he lunged at the monster, his left hand wielded the fire he had spent all night perfecting. Testing out the power recklessly, he lit himself with that power and behind him, he could only hear muted shrieks. He shook off the soundlessness in his ears. He swiped at the creature with his fire on full while Percy took the neck. Percy jumped onto the creature and tried to strangle it. Nico could see it was fruitless. They wouldnt be able to take it down. Not like this. Nico searched through his mind for alternatives while the Griever howled in pain.

It suddenly all came to him. Nico put two fingers in his mouth and gave a loud high-pitched whistle. He, obviously, was not able to keep Cerberus quiet on his way up, so he had raised him from far away. Far enough for the splitting of the ground to be quietened to nothing. Faintly, from a distance, Nico could hear Cerberus loud barks and the thumping of feet. Taking a risk, he jumped toward Percy and hauled him off the Griever just in time to see Cerberus sprinting at the Griever. With one of his paws, he cut the battery of the Griever right off cleanly. Without the power supply, the Griever could only run about them like a headless creature.

Nico wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead when the paralysing feeling of the gash at his side flooded in. He applied pressure on it and pressed it down, keeping it as hidden as possible. There, he felt the rush of a warm liquid oozing out and staining his clothes. Nico clutched it tighter. The searing pain did not cease. Gritting his teeth, he asked led Cerberus by command forward. He had no idea where they were going, or when the next monster would come. This ambush had surprised Nico greatly. Why hadnt it worked? As if Percy could hear his unspoken thoughts, He spoke.

"Perhaps there was too little of the dark-y thing?" Nico bit his lip as the pain did not subside. He replied tersely.

"Maybe." Percy frowned and followed his hand to where it disappeared under the fabric of his shirt. Percy knew the shirt was black, but he thought he could see a large patch that was darker than the others. He glared at Nico, but he turned away, muttering he was fine.

"Nico?" Percy called. Nico picked his head up and raised his eyebrow.

"What is it now, Jackson?" Nico mumbled. Each word he spoke was like a punishment, for with each breath he took in, his gash seemed to cut deeper into his skin. Nico was sure that if he pressed his hand in more, he could feel the hard bonethat formed his ribcage. Percy's eyes sent the unspoken question. Nico ignored it and Percy was about to prod deeper when a Glader behind them shouted for Nico. Nico whipped around, a bit too quickly than he should have.

Lebron was pointing eagerly toward the far passageway. He was breathless as he squeezed in multiple syllables into each second. With Nico's careful coaxing, Lebron slowed down slightly but the excitement could barely be contained.

"I think i found the exit." Nico's eyes lit up a fraction. Thoughts clouded his head.

"Oh no. I was supposed to look for Will. Wh-what if he is still waiting for me? What if...wh-what if…" Nico ran his fingers through his hair. He blocked everything out. It was all nothing but a blur. Faint screams in his direction, but one voice cut above his muted ears.

"Nico!" With tears fogging up his vision, he turned, again too fast than he was supposed to. But the sight was worth it. A few metres away, Nico could clearly make out a lanky figure in the distance. He had a sandy-coloured head of hair and his clear blue irises bore right into his. The person waved.

"Nico! Nico?" The person called again, this time more insistent. Beneath his feet the concrete floor felt soft, not as much as even a firm carpet, but not right for oak planks. Nico moved toward the boy, his jeans and his free arm brushing against the mildewed wall. It was hard to make out the details of the maze after the night light around him, but after a while him could make out the features of the wall. It was the same as it ever was, just abandoned, old, mossy. His hand dug deeper into his skin and it stung as though to tell him that it was real, not just a figment of his imagination. The boy's hands were outstretched, but Nico didnt know whether it was to embrace him or to catch him. The boy was wearing a plain white shirt that complemented his tan skin tone. Forgetting the floor he rushed forward, "Will! O-oh Gods! I-i thou-i..scusa...oddio, mi sei mancato così tanto! Dove sei stato?!" At that point, he wasnt even sure what language he was speaking in at that moment. His only answer was the creaking of his legs buckling under him. His eyesight blurred, but not only because tears were welling up. Everything became fuzzy; then he saw nothing at all. His consciousness was floating through an empty space filled with a thick static. The only things he could hear was the whistling sound of wind as he felt his body falling. His perception of time distorted, everything slowed down until there was nothing, only him, Will, and the sky above, the sky that seemed to swallow him whole. A lump rose in his throat and a sudden feeling of nausea overtook him. His hand reached out toward Will, kissing the sky, grasping the endless crevasse of black. Everything was a blur, a blur that swirled out of existence. Suspended in the air, he felt himself falling backwards into a void of nothingness, his vision fading out slowly, closing in, nearing toward the centre.

All feeling in his body drained away until finally all was black.


	18. Chapter 18

Nico roused slightly. When he first came to, he couldnt see anything; it was all a plain dull white. A blank sheet of canvas, uncoloured. He could hear voices of people conversing, but at the same time, he couldnt. It sounded like it was coming from the opposite end of an especially long tunnel. Noises, oh so far away. The only thing that came to him was how blissfully amnesic he was. He had absolutely no idea where he was, who he was, and scarily, what he was. But there was no negativity. It was all calm and he was content.

Then, long-term memories came flooding back unhurriedly, and he remembered, he was human, or half-blood, as his memory told him. He had a name; Nico di Angelo. A nice name, he thought. He could recall, he had a mother, and a sister-no, two-one tall and beautiful, the best and most loving sister he could ever ask for. The most obliging and sweet sister, the one that always gave in to him no matter how unreasonable he was. The image of her gorgeous brown eyes displayed in his eyes, he smiled, if not only just a little, a twitch at the corners of his lips. The other sister, a younger sibling, gold eyes matching her luscious almond brown hair. In the particular memory, she hugged his waist tight. Nico could only think how fortunate he had to be to have two caring sisters, two people who loved him more than the world. And oh, his mother...an attractive young lady, so slender she could look evil, but the way she caressed his cheek was enough to make Nico want to fall into her arms and snuggle up to her. Nico's heart swelled with love from and for his family. He could not stop thinking about how he would thank them profusely over and over again when his vision cleared.

Slowly, the noises-or voices-became more distinct and recognisable, speech and language all came back to him, as well as the hammering feeling at the back of his skull. He tried for his hands, but they were held down by invisible weights. He tried his other hand, but it was the same. The voices were drawing nearer and nearer toward him in the tunnel.

At that point, Nico began to freak out a bit in his head. His recent memories had yet to return. While he couldnt see, he had regained his ability to move. It started out heavy, like his arms weighed thousands of pounds. His headache worsened, now pounding more vigorous and assertive. He raised his arm weakly, only making it go no more than an inch or two. He felt around the grass beneath him, clutching it tightly as pain tainted his plain canvas of sight, painting it a dark bloody red. He grasped the blades of grass and clenched his teeth as a new source of pain identified itself at the side of his abdomen. He rubbed the soil and sensed the texture of the soil that underlay the rich crispy crunching of leaves. He could pinpoint the origins of voices now and turned toward them, but his vision didnt return.

Dead. That was the first thing that came to mind when a memory came back. Tears stung his eyes. Bianca. Mamma. Dead. He subconsciously bit his lip. Zeus. Zeus caused Mamma's death. Nico. Nico caused...Bianca's death. He breathed in the smell of fresh grass and morning dew. But the horrendous thoughts wormed their way through his false walls. He took in another breath again, but this one was no where as calming or effective as the previous. His messily coloured vision receded slightly and gave way hazily to the multi-coloured verse. The whiteness lingered a bit at the corners but it did not affect his line of sight as much. He took in the environment and could hear a soft voice.

It was light and wispy, like he had heard it somewhere before, but he couldnt say where. It was like entering the Glade all over again. The Glade...escape. Fragments pieced themselves together, and his recollection returned to him bit by bit. He retraced his steps. He went to Hogwarts...Harry...dead...revival...Glade...escape. Nico fingernails dug into his skin as his pressed them in, forcing the pain to become the only thing he cared about at the moment.

But the voice; it was special. He let go of the blissful feeling of nothingness as he blinked away the last bits of whiteness away. He heard the creaking of his neck joints as he turned toward the voice. An emerald-eyed boy stood there-no, two-but the shorter one...he was...Nico mentally snapped his ice-cold fingers. Harry.

Oh Gods. Harry. There he was! Nico, against his better judgement, sat up quickly. His vision seemed to threaten him as it blackened a little and flickered about. The sting in his abdomen felt like fire. Nico shook his head and pounded at his throbbing headache. For some reason, the pain in his head spread to near his ears and he wondered if others could hear what he was hearing, and if he was hearing what others were.

Will and Harry immediately ran over to lie him back down. Will took his pulse and bit his lip. Harry looked at Will and he shook his head sadly. Nico looked frantically between the two of them. Before he could say anything, Harry stuck his hand on Nico's forehead and drew his hand back immediately, soaking it in a tub of what Nico supposed to be water. Nico had a negative feeling this was not because his skin was cold to the touch. Will saw this recoilation and he himself put his hand on, only to draw back within a few seconds too. Nico frowned, but even the little movement strained him. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. None that he could hear.

The pain in his body suddenly banded together to form an unbearable pain. He tried again despite Will forcing him back down. Slowly he tried to get up but quickly realized how futile it was when he had to bite his chapped lip to keep from crying out. Sharp pain lanced through his head and colorful spots flashed in front of his pained eyes. It felt like his whole body, rather than just his side, had been beaten and every movement caused every muscle and bone to ache. Regardless, he was desperate, and needed to get out of this sickly, needy state.

Wincing In pain, he started to grab the shoulders of the people around him and cracks in the soil to help hoist himself up. He was careful to not look at the faces of the people he was pushing every way to move, and extra careful not to place his hands on the sharp shards of broken items. But there was one second, one second he just happened to look down, and he saw bloody, gory state of which he was in and he recklessly started crawling forwards again and...

Crack. His hand came down on a piece of glass and he hissed in pain. Nico sank back toward the ground. Will muttered something anxiously under his breath and Harry scowled. Giving Nico one last check for the hour, Will stood up and brushed off his jeans together with Harry. They walked off to the far distance. From afar, Nico could tell that Will had said something that ticked Harry off. He responded with a soft protest with exaggerated movements, too wild to match the volume of his voice. Nico looked away. He knew what they were probably talking about. He gathered the most amount of strength he could and staggered over to a stool. Fighting down the nauseating feeling that rose up his throat, he ignored the burning heat of his arms as he pushed up his sleeves. He found new cuts. He knew, he knew. He knew that he had vowed never to cut again. But...he couldnt help it. He didnt want to burden anyone, those who wanted it, who deserved to be.

He remembered the time Newt told him he tried to kill himself years ago, because he hated the place. He tried to explain to Newt why he cut too, but he could tell. He could tell that Newt wouldnt understand that Nico's emotional burden was not just to be expelled by death. It was a tormentous process that ate him up from the inside. What made his body hate eating, even before the capture. What caused the lines on his arms, even before he knew what was wrong. He cut to forget, to ignore, to cope with hurt, with grief, with let-downs, to distract himself, to make him feel...alive.

Depression, he knew, that was what he had. Depression was rarely just sadness, or crying, or being a quiet pushover in the playground. People defined depression as moping around, never getting over the past. People talked about depression like it was feeling overwhelming emotions of disappointment, feelings one could only express through cutting and self-harm. People thought of it as a contagious disease one could pass on from person to person.

But people were wrong. Depression. It was the unfeeling sensation, a numbness that couldnt 'just be gotten rid of'. It was being oblivious to everything. It was no longer caring enough or having the ambition to change others to be the better person they could be. It was knowing that everyone was imperfect, that everyone had flaws. It was purposely turning a blind eye to everything and anything. It was waking up to go back to sleep again.

Depression felt like you have lost something, but you dont know what you lost, or when you lost it. Then on the rare day that you wake up to face the world, you realise that what you lost was really yourself.

It was self-loathe, self-deprecation, feeling hopeless, isolation from others, anxiety, guilt, and looking up at the night sky that mirrored his thoughts. It was having these...extreme thoughts. It was being sorry; sorry for being useless, ugly, a mess, a weakling. Sorry for being born, for hating oneself, for being annoying and irritating. Sorry for everything. But above all, it was being sorry that people had to put up with him.

Will had once asked a certain patient of his what depression felt like, although the boy hadnt been diagnosed. The boy had looked up at Will with soulless eyes and he explained.

"It's like...drowning, i suppose, in a pool, and you keep trying to go up for air." Will had nodded as he jotted it down, feeling slightly perturbed by the response. But it really was the next statement that made his blood run cold.

The boy whispered, "Except that the worst part is…" Will shivered under the icy gaze of the italian boy.

Nico mouthed the words along with his memory.

"...you can see everyone around you breathing."

"Wait, what? What do you mean? I-i cant...no. No. There must be another way." Harry protested. Nico rested his arm on his wound and grimaced as he tried to reason with Harry.

"No. Harry. Listen to me." He gritted his teeth ans the pain shot up his spine, leaving a tingling sensation to mark its path. Nico carried on through clenched teeth. "Look. I know you want to go with us, but the only reason i'm bringing Newt and Minho with me is because they're demigods. I can sense it, and i'm sure about it. You arent, Harry. I'm sorry, but i dont want to drag you down with me whenever a monster tries to kill me." Nico's grip on his wound stiffened as he realised he pressed too hard on it and the stitches had broken open. Choosing to ignore it, like he did with everything nowadays, he dealt the final blow.

"Besides," Nico began. "Ron and Hermione are still in Hogwarts. Can you bear to see your best friends hurting like that, like i am and will always be?" Harry sighed in defeat and shook his head. Nico raised his free hand to rest it on his shoulder firmly. His gaze softened under the hopeful eyes of Harry.

"I cant let you come with us, but if you want, i suppose i can let you stay til sunset, cos that's when we're leaving for real." Harry nodded quickly and smiled gratefully, eyes lighting up immediately at the thought. After having dealt with so many dissatisfied people, it was always pleasant to meet someone so easily appeased..

"Thank you," Harry whispered. "Thank you."

And for the first time in years, that simple phrase meant the world to Nico.

Newt and Minho had been informed of the decision to bring them to camp. They'd gotten quite worked up about the idea of having fun after three years of the Glade. But there were many injuries that needed healing to be able to set out to camp. It was mostly just Nico, as he was the transport pillar in the team.

They had settled for leaving at night after their last campfire, and this time, Nico swore to stay til the end.


	19. Chapter 19

Nico eased himself into a makeshift wheelchair. Apparently, when he fell from the Griever's attack, his right leg had been fractured and the only reason he didnt know was because the pain in his abdomen hurt way more, which didnt really make sense to Nico but he accepted it anyway. Now, as if to punish him, Nico was to sit in a wheelchair for the next few days. Nico had protested at that, but what could he do? Nico sighed as he rubbed the armrests of the chair and watched the Gladers sitting on the dirty soil, oddly wishing he could be there too.

Nico gripped the armrest tightly in a death grip as he tried to push himself up. His arms trembled and his good leg shook, but he refused to be seated down any longer. Shifting the bulk of his weight onto the good leg, he hopped about the vast spaces of trees and thick overgrown weeds and found a stick about three-fourth his height. His injured leg screamed in agony and he suppressed the cry that was fighting to get out. Holding the stick under his right arm, he evened out his weight onto the two pillars of support and staggered back toward the campsite.

The fire was already lit and the sun was going to set. The yellow orb of raging flames merged to hues of orange, and then almost tangerine. It blended with the sky, like tawny-coloured dye dissolving in a glass of water. The clouds were soft like cotton-candy, and were tinged a warm colour as though they blushed at the soothing touch of the sun. Silhouettes of birds flew home across a sky that was now magenta; and the sun was half into the water, but its reflection in the sea made it look complete. The mauve of the dusky sky intensified, and in just a while, the biggest star had set, giving way to a thousand others. The beauty of the setting sun only served the sole purpose of tugging at Nico's heartstrings. Soon, he'd have to leave most of the Gladers, and Harry. He had gone so far to save and protect Harry, and now, he must complete it. He must follow up with his mission. Keeping Harry with him would only cause him harm.

Nico hobbled toward the seat on the ground beside Will and he kissed his freckled cheek. Will turned around in surprise and raised an eyebrow, looking at the wheelchair opposite him. Nico frowned and jerked his head at the stick at his side. Will traced his line of sight down to Nico's wound.

"Have you broken the stitches since you came to?" Nico blushed and shook his head unconvincingly. Will reached out and pulled up the shirt to reveal Nico's blood-stained body. Will sighed.

"Seriously? Oh Gods, Nico…" Nico hung his head in shame. "I was explaining to Harry about our decision." Will stiffened.

"What did he say?" Nico pursed his lips as the wind sliced at his open wound and sent an electrocuted feeling up his leg.

"He was adamant about staying with us first but i managed to convince him to return. I...He...i allowed him to stay till after campfire." Will exhaled slowly and took Nico's hands in his. Nico drew back slightly and pulled down the sleeves of his jacket. Will looked hurt.

"I-i got to g-go help Harry." Nico stuttered and stood up quickly, taking his leave as he refrained from grimacing. He had left his stick back there but no way he was going to go back and see Will's shadowed look. He tripped over a few stones along the way but that only drove him to go faster. He found Harry sitting under a tree looking out at the horizon.

" 'sup Nico. Fell out with your boyfriend?" Nico tightly held his hands at his side. Harry noticed this and flopped onto his stomach before Nico. "What'd he do?" Nico rubbed his forehead as the dizzy spells returned. Harry seemed to split into two and everything doubled. His vision zoomed in and out of focus. Nico could barely see Harry waving his hand in front of him. By the time Nico cleared his sight, Harry was up on his feet.

"I'm going to get Will." Nico shook his head slowly to prevent his consciousness from fading out again.

"No, Harry. Please, no." Harry considered this and hesitantly sat back down. Harry studied Nico's pale face and sunken cheekbones, then moved down to his arms that hung limply by his side. Nico frowned.

Harry prodded carefully, knowing he was treading on dangerous grounds. "Is it because…" Nico followed his eyes down to his scarred arms. Nico brought his arm protectively up to his wound and rested it there, stroking it reverently with his other mutilated arm.

"Why?" Nico's gaze shot back up to Harry's face. Harry licked his dry lips and pressed them together to form a thin line. He shrugged.

"Yes. Its because of...you know." Nico breathed out finally. He looked up to Harry.

"He didnt actually say anything right?" Harry pressed. Nico shook his head. "H-he didnt, but i saw it. I saw the disappointment in his eyes." Nico gave Harry an imploring look.

"Nico, its probably fine. You relapsed, but you can bounce back up again." Nico shut his eyes to stop the tears from spilling over.

"I-its just that...i-i think i'm depressed."

Harry mentally facepalmed but he soon realised Nico wasnt joking. "Wait, you mean it for real?" Nico sighed.

"When did i ever joke? I'm serious. I-i dont know what's happening to me...why i'm so...weak, and broken, and easily triggered, and now...i dont just harm myself to escape. I-its almost like i want to kill myself, once and for all." Harry's stomach flopped.

"I-i'm going to get Will. This isnt right." Harry started to go.

"No, Harry. I-i was just kidding. Just kidding." Nico lied anxiously. He didnt want anyone to know. Not Will. Harry looked doubtful, then a smile spread across his face.

"Hah! Got me!" Harry lightly hit Nico's back playfully and Nico fake grinned. If ignorance was bliss, Harry must be the most blissful person in the world. Harry got up and offered Nico a hand. Nico took it and pulled himself up as he grimaced when he accidentally pressed down on his injured leg. Harry placed Nico's hand on his shoulder and he supported Nico as they ambled back outside.

Nico slunk over to Will's side and whispered a soft apology into his ear. Will gently stroked Nico's arms and Nico tried to ignore the tears in Will's eyes as he muttered the apology over and over again. Will brought his hand up to Nico's cheek.

There wasnt even time to think or blink. Will's lips pressed against Nico's. For the bried split-second their lips connected, Nico's lips burned. Will'd put them on fire, poured gasoline on him, set a match, and Nico was ablaze.

He felt alive.

It was over as quickly as it lasted, like they were scared someone would see. Nico felt he should've been afraid too, but he didnt. "You broke your promise, babe...why? Didnt you know i'd be hurt? Didnt you know i'd be there to help you through it?" Nico felt the tears return and his heart broke.

"I didnt want to burden you." There was a pause and it lingered on Will's soft lips. It wouldnt have seemed different to the outside eye, but Nico couldnt stop staring at them. Before Will could say anything, Nico pulled him away into the forests behind them and off they went, Nico in front tugging at Will's shirt, completely ignoring the stabbing pain in his body.

At last, they stopped. Will tried to cut in a word, but he soon found himself unable to. Nico gently pressed his lips against Will's as he rested an arm on his shoulder and the other behind his head. Will stroked Nico's side and brushed the hair out of his face, tucking it behind his ear. Nico pinned Will against the tree bark behind him, and a jolt of pain from his leg caused him to lose his balance, making him fall on Will. Will smiled against Nico's lips and he shut his eyes to soak himself in their love. Nico pulled away first, and he whispered.

"I love you Will. So so much."

When they returned, the fire was up and going already. They only had time to eat and mingle a bit more before they went their separate ways. Newt, upon seeing them come from the bushes, smirked, sending a blush creeping up Nico's pale cheeks.

"Uhm…" Nico cleared his throat. "Hi." Shrugging, Newt directed the duo to a seat two spaces from him. "Minho?" Nico asked, tilting his head toward the seat. Newt nodded. "I dont trust him to find a seat." Nico chuckled lightly at that.

Soon, people began to dig in, toasting marshmallows and eating them melted. Nico crinkled his nose at that. Will turned to him and without warning, forced a lump of sweetness into his mouth. "Eat up, Sunshine." Nico glared at him, but relented. He took a stick of marshmallows from the side and stuck it in the fire, retrieving it when it looked soft enough and chewing on it apprehensively. Why would anyone want to eat a pile of sugar. But for Will...Nico sighed. Will was really his soft spot. He'd do anything for Will, including hiding his flaws from him to keep him innocent. A sly smile crept onto his lips.

Percy had been eyeing them the entire time. They were so sweet; the way Will pecked the tip of Nico's nose, the way Nico returned it with a kiss on the lips and surprising Will. Their playful banter was enough to melt a whole piece of frozen ice.

Percy stood up to make an announcement. "Okay guys. This is when we separate. Anyone wants to say anything or any last words. Wait, no-parting words. Sorry. Anyone?" A hand was raised among the crowd.

A lump rose in Nico's throat. It was Cody. Nico knew that Cody was a sweet and very nice boy, but had also gone through hardship. After their interaction that day, he had spoken to Cody on a couple of occasions and realised that his life wasnt as smooth-sailing as thought to be.

"I just wanna say thanks to everyone for being so nice ever since i met yall. Especially Nico here. He helped me through tough times that nobody knew. Honestly, i though he was a really mean and cruel person at first, then i realised that like us, he was human. He's...a good person when yall get to know him, so…" Cody abruptly turned to Nico and ran to him, embracing him in a hug.

Nico, one always awkward when it came to physical contact, stiffly patted Cody's back. Nico swallowed a lump in his throat as he stood up on one leg to say something. "Guys."

"Guys!" Nico tried again and people snapped their heads in his direction. Nico caught Harry's eyes and he looked away, knowing that what he was going to say next was probably going to be followed by many protests from him. "I'm thinking...i'm pretty sure that all or at least the vast majority of yall here are…" Nico paused to make sure he had their utmost attention.

"Demigods." There was a gasp. They looked at each other and tried to point out and figure out what was so different and special about each of them. Nico sighed and rubbed his right leg inconspicuously.

"So basically, i'm going to bring all of you with me to camp and confirm whether or not yall are." Nico fixed eye contact with Harry. "Mind you, this is just a hunch. I may be wrong." The Gladers sighed and shrugged good-heartedly. Will turned to Nico, surprised that he had known all this.

"Really, Nico? You think they're demigods?" Nico nodded tentatively. " 's a chance. A high probability actually." Will opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. A Glader raised his hand from the back and Nico froze when he saw who it was.

Lebron smirked at Nico. " 'sup, Nico. Anyway, all i wanted to say that i'm really grateful for all the care and support everyone has showered on me. This time in the Glade may not have been extremely enjoyable but i will remember it for eternity." The Gladers all gushed at the compliments while Nico heaved a sigh of relief. At least the mist trick had worked or it would've been really uncomfortable for him and Will. Beside him, Will leaned against his shoulder while he himself played with Will's hair.

Percy stood up. "Well, the last time we had a campfire with Nico, he didnt do anything fun. Its payback time isnt it, Angel?" There were several hoots of laughter as they simultaneously agreed. Nico's face ashened. No way he was going to do this. No way. Will pouted, and gave Nico his cutest, most innocent begging look. Nope. Will opened his eyes wider, his bright blue eyes shining. Nico groaned. Damn Will with his adorable stare. Damn him.

Nico stiffly stood up and brushed his jeans to stall for time. "Uhh…" Nothing came to mind. "Uhh…"

Percy sighed. "Why dont you just play your violin or something." He deadpanned. Nico looked from Will, to the Gladers, then to Percy. Nico exhaled slowly.

" 'kay whatever but i'm not good." Nico could hear Will's snorting and Percy's disbelieving look. Percy scoffed. "You totally werent at grade six when you ended off (idk how violin's grades are dont bash me)." Nico rolled his eyes and called for the ground to give him the violin. For the first few seconds, there was no response. Then, there was a might rumble of the soil and his violin, in all its glory, was slowly raised. Giving another one of his long, deep, depressing sighs, he picked it up and held it under his chin, shifting his weight slightly. He rested the violin carefully between his shoulder and jaw. He took the bow he had rosined and raised it. The audience cheered and the urge to bail out intensified.

He shut his eyes to pretend that there was no one around and strung the violin. It was soft and mild at first, as though he had forgotten the song he had been thinking of playing. After some more stalling, Nico settled for a song he had heard a few weeks ago. He began to play passionately, getting more into the song. After a while, he couldnt resist mouthing the words to the song, and the music flowed throughout the open air like food for the soul.

('Perfect' by Ed Sheeran, tweaked lyrics. Enjoy :D)

I found a love for me

Baby just dive right in

And follow my lead

Well i found a boy gorgeous and sweet

I never knew you were the one i was meant to meet

Cause i was a mess when i first saw you

Not knowing what to do

I will not go wrong this time round

All i want is your heart, for you to belong to me

And i now know that you are mine

Baby, we're dancing in the dark, with me between your arms

Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favourite song

When i said i looked like shit, you said that i was all you need

I smiled despite myself cause you are perfect

Well i found a boy, sweeter than anyone i know

He loves who i am, my flaws and quirks and looks and all that

I found myself, as a child who just needed you

As a person, whom you loved and held so so dear

We are still kids, but we're so in love

Fighting against all odds

I know you will be mine this time

Sunshine just take my hand

I'll be your boy, you, my man

I see our future in your eyes

Baby, we're dancing in the dark, with me between your arms

Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favourite song

When you came up behind me to kiss me on my cheek

I couldnt even stop to blink, you look perfect tonight

Baby, we're dancing in the dark, with me between your arms

Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favourite song

And then Hogwarts came along

But i know that to you i do belong in your

Heart and your soul

Sunshine baby

You look perfect tonight

Nico took a deep breath and released his violin, telling the ground to swallow it with care. At that point of time, he didnt care whether people were cheering or clapping for him. He searched Will's face for disgust and hatred, but all he found was love and warmth. Running toward him as best as he could with open arms, he embraced him in a hug and whispered into his ear.

"Darling?" Nico breathed. "You look perfect tonight."


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: This is the last chapter. Comment if i should do a sequel. Honest opinions only please. If yes, there are a few choices

Crossover:  
#1: The Darkest Minds (great series read it if you havent)  
#2: The Avengers  
#3: Whatever books yall can comment ill try to read if i havent and do a sequel

Non-crossover:  
(haha no choices i decide :D but yall can say what type yall dun wan)

ALSO, I DONT INTEND TO INCORPORATE JASON’S DEATH IN ANY SEQUELS (if yall want a sequel, that is). THATS THE WHOLE PURPOSE FOR WRITING FANFICS; TO CHANGE THE INEVITABLE :D

Everybody in the first group huddled around Nico in a circle, some putting their hand on his shoulder, some just holding on slightly to the tip of the fabric of his shirt. Nico felt a shiver of nausea running up and down his spine as he thought about the hands that touched him. He gulped. 

He turned to Will. Will would stay with the second group as he transported the first group over. Then, Nico would come back, and transport the remaining people. Nico could already feel the oncoming lack of energy as they continued tugging and pushing each other to get a hold on him. He licked his dry and chapped lips. Will extended his hand toward him and shifted his eyes over to Nico’s bag. 

The look on his face must have betrayed his confusion for Will sighed. “Let me help you take your bag. It will be of lesser load then.” Nico seemed to consider this for a moment, eyebrows drawn together a little, then he shrugged and carefully slid the bag off his shoulders. The lessened load was obvious; Nico rolled his shoulders backward and forward, tilting his neck this way and that, not the least bit accustomed to the familiar weight off his back. Loosening up his tensed adhd muscles, he gathered the shadows to engulf them in a thick fog and tried to concentrate on camp half-blood. The group’s form flickered, looking as though there was a glitch, halfway through fading but yet not quite there. 

Nico released his hold on the shadows, and put on a befuddled look. He glanced at the Gladers, and found them all around him, writhing in pain. He widened his eyes in alarm.

“What’s wrong?” The Glader he spoke to could barely uncurl himself from the ball he had contorted into. Percy rushed over and Harry gave an analytical stare, calculating the number of possible reasons for this hurt. Percy lightly rested a finger on the Glader and he howled in pain. Even Harry, who was a few feet away, flinched at the noise.

“I know what’s wrong.” Will’s soft voice was heard above the anxious chatters. Will, so far, had been the only calm one, not fussing about their health like Nico had thought he was. Will knelt down on the floor to level with the Glader. “If my hypothesis is correct, when you use your power in great quantities, people with a feet or two or touching you can feel it and convert this power into pain. These Gladers here,” Will paused to stick a thumb at the numerous Gladers on the ground. “still have your darkness in them, and hence this reaction.” Will concluded with a satisfied grin.

Nico took a second to register this chunk of information and it all clicked in. He inhaled sharply. 

Exhaling the breath of air no where as slowly as he had taken it in, he spread out his freezing arms. 

“I would like to call back on the darkness in each and every one of these Gladers. I understand that this is irreversible, and impossible to go back on my word. I now await its retur--”

“Stop.” That one word was said with so much force and such firmness that Nico stopped mid-sentence and whipped around to face the voice. His jaw slacked.

“Dad? What are you doing here?” Hades waved off that question impatiently.

“Son, i am here to give you a choice. You can take back all the darkness from the Gladers, and attain the title of a God, or you can not.” Nico frowned.

“Why would i get the title of a God if i retrieve the darkness?” Hades sighed and rubbed the lines across his forehead.

“If you cant see, my dear son, the power of a demigod is one-forth that of a God for a child of the Big Three, right or not?” Nico nodded.

“Okay so, when you gave the Gladers half of your darkness, or powers, inevitably, you gave them one-eigth of a God’s power, right or not?” Nico nodded again, the pieces beginning to fall into their places.

“So basically, when i gave you three-quarter of my power, which is makes...let me see...seven-eighth of a God’s powers right?” Nico nodded and it all fell into place.

Nico began. “So...when i get back that one-eigth, i will become a God.” Nico looked to Hades for confirmation.

“Right.” Hades replied. Nico spared Will, who was by the side, a glance.

“Dad...i...wait a sec.” Nico left to Will’s side.

Will looked downcast. “I...its alright if you choose Godhood. I respect your decision.” Nico looked at Will with wide eyes. Making a decision in his head, he strode back to Hades, speaking in a tone he hoped was more cnfident and persuasive than he felt.

“Dad, ummm...so the thing is…” Nico motioned for Hades to come closer and he whispered into his ear. Hades nodded, and frowned slightly, then he straightened up.

“Yes, son, that may be done. There is no place to store it anyway, and the rest...they’d be more than glad to give their children this opportunity.” Nico bit his lip and gestured for him to come closer again, which he did. Hades cast Will a glance as if to size him up and shrugged.

“Well, its not his choice. Even if he doesnt allow it, i will do anything for you, Nicolas.”

Nico groaned. “My name is NOT Nicolas. We have gone over this before. My name is either Nicolo or Nicola if you must, but if you use either name, i am going to kill you, for real. I dont care if you are my father.” Hades shrugged again as though it didnt taunt him.

“Anyway, as i was saying,” Nico continued in hushed tones. “what if they dont want it in the end? I mean, even ahem ahem declined the offer when ahem saw that ahem ahem wasnt offered it with ahem.” Hades raised an eyebrow and shook his head, casting another calculating glance in Will’s direction. This time, Will caught him staring and he hurriedly turned back to the conversation. Hades sighed.

“I dont understand why you’re going to such lengths for them.” Nico rolled his eyes at his father.

“You wont understand if i told you. You are not spoiling it for me or him or any of them, got it?” Hades gave another flippant smug smile and Nico huffed.

“Right, so how do i go about doing this?” Hades ambled over to his side.

“Just do what you usually do.” Nico bit his lip and stretched his hand out, feeling rather awkward with his father breathing down his neck. Deciding he couldnt take it anymore, he spun around.

“Why are you still here? Arent you done with your business here?” Nico said, knowing that his words probably came out as more cutting than intended. But Hades only looked sheepish.

“Umm...i forgot to ask you when you want me to give it to them.” Nico opened his mouth to snap at Hades then thought the better of it. He hummed a bit, then decided.

“You know what? I dont know. There wont be a perfect date. What about when i...think of some signal i can make with my hands that will catch your attention. Something that wont seem to weird, something unassuming, something that i usually do, but also dont use it too much, something--” 

“The middle finger.” Hades said without batting an eyelid. Nico arched his eyebrows to their limit, but didnt argue.

Hades carried on, like they totally werent talking about some really odd topic for a father and son. “Point it toward the ground, behind your back. If i dont respond within five seconds, shake it or wave it, but keep it out of sight to the outsiders eye.” Nico nodded slowly, comprehending it. They locked contact for a while, then they stiffly turned away.

“Ahem. i...um...i’m going to leave now son. Remember the Gladers are still on the ground by the way.” Nico shrugged.

Hades held the hem of his cloak, and winked at Nico. “Good luck, child. Dont mess it up.” Nico blushed and went pink at the ears and he pulled the strands of hair by his temples down to cover the colour. Once Hades had left, he returned to the Gladers, who were flopping about on the ground in agony. One of them gasped and grimaced while Nico hurriedly began to take back the darkness from all the Gladers; both team one and two. He deliberately but subtly took a step in front of Will, not really because it was easier, but honestly because he couldnt bear to see the hurt in his eyes. Nico’s heart was crushed. Will must be thinking that he preferred this offer to him. But he didnt. He really really loved Will, but to keep the surprise, he would bear the pain of misunderstanding for just a while, and when he was ready, he just hoped they liked the present.

But he knew Will and the others will be so mad at him.  
_

Nico lay on the sweet sweet grass right outside camp half-blood. Someone must have given them insider information that they were coming back as the seven, excluding Percy and including Reyna were there, ready to embrace them in a bone-crushing hug. Reyna was the bravest of them all as she strode up to him and punched his shoulder with sisterly affection.

“ ‘sup Nico. Sorry i couldnt be there at the battle. Um...are you okay?” Unknown to Nico, he had gone very pale and his eyes flashed gold. Reyna drew back immediately. “Oh Gods, i didnt just punch a possessed person did i?” She looked to Will, then to Percy, both of which turned away with their heads down.

Her eyes narrowed to slits. “Something’s off. What’s wrong?” Nico brought his limp arms across his chest, cupping his elbows with his little palms like he was cold, and walked away, his head down. Hazel ran after him and put her hand around his shoulder. “Baby brother, what did Dad do to you?” Nico looked up, his gold eyes missing the familiar warmth in them.

“Firstly, i’m not a baby, and i’m older than you. Secondly…” Nico sighed, unsure whether to carry on. “Dad...he gave me...a chance to have Godhood. And i…” Hazel’s hands flew to her mouth, shaking her head.

“No...you didnt…” Hazel looked so betrayed, Nico felt perhaps he could just tell her. Only her, because she was his sister.

“Hazel.” Hazel turned heel. “Hazel! Its not what you think it is. Wait--Stop! Hazel!” Hazel stopped and spun around, her head still down.

“Why’d you give us up for immortality? Are we really so replaceable in your eyes?” Nico’s parched throat wanted to scream in frustration. 

“Just let me finish, Hazel,” Nico muttered. “I was going to say that while i accepted it, i didnt forget about you all. Geez.” Nico grumbled, rubbing his ears as if to emphasise Hazel’s volume. Hazel either did not see it, or chose to ignore it deliberately.

“What do you mean by that exactly? If you are meaning to ditch us then no need to sugarcoat it.” Hazel whispered. Nico sighed.

“I hope you all like it. I…” Hazel picked her head up to look at it, hiding her mounting intrigue behind the curtain of hair covering her face. Nico chewed his lower lip. “I asked Dad to ask the Gods to also offer each of the seven Godhood too...but he said Bellona may not be available or open, so to speak, about this. As for the seven, Hades said he should be able to convince them to. In fact, i think Poseidon is really enthusiastic about this whole thing.”

Hazel’s face changed from one of pure disappointment and betrayal to one of utmost appreciation and love. “Really, brother, you did that for us?” Nico shrugged, careful not to tear apart the stitches in the process again. The day had been tough enough. Walking over to the right of Hazel, he put a hand over her left shoulder and guided her back to where the others were. 

Nico paused just before they reached them, and turned Hazel to face him, both hands planted firmly on her little shoulders. “And um,” Nico glanced at the seven minus Hazel plus Reyna. “Dont tell them about it just yet okay? I…” Hazel put a finger to his lips, silencing him.

“I get it brother. You want it to be a surprise right?” Nico nodded. Hazel beamed. “Okay, can do. I’ll just say i was showing you the new cabins. Play along, yea?” Nico grinned. If anything, lying was his fort. Releasing his grip on Hazel, he spoke, a lilt in his voice.

“Lets go.” Hazel, refusing to let her brother be shy, looped her arm around Nico’s, involuntarily hitting his hurt side and sparking the pain in his leg to act up. Nico hunched his shoulders slightly as the electrocuting feeling of pain seized the entire right side of his body. In addition, the feverish feeling from being knocked out returned at full force, its plan for vengeance clear as the stars hanging in the sky now. The pain throbbed in his guts, deep and warm, but far from the nice way. It felt like someone had their hand in there and were squeezing his organs first gently and then as hard as they could. When it waned a little, he moved slightly, then it returned. He held still and breathed, slow and deep until it tided over, bit by bit. There was a patch of crusting blood on his shirt and Nico could feel more oozing out. Every step felt like a nail bomb exploding in his innards. If it wasn't for Hazel right beside him, not noticing this sudden change in character, he’d have, by then, succumbed to the pain and called for his father to claim him. Hazel chattered on and on, raving about Harry, Hogwarts, and rambling about her and Frank. 

“.... another type of people, you know? Like, they are so cool--woah!” Nico jerked to a stop right in front of the group and turned to Hazel, hoping that the blood loss wasnt too obvious in the dark.

“Sh...remember not to tell them, Haze.” Hazel rolled her eyes and stepped up onto the tips of her toes and kissed him forehead, unknowingly pressing his bad foot into the ground. Nico clipped his tongue between his teeth to prevent from wincing out loud. The dizziness clouded his thoughts and he took a steadying breath before striding forward.

“Hey. We’re back. I have to send you off Harry. C’mon, Harry.” Harry nodded miserably. 

“How’s your leg? And your side? Are you still feeling feverish, or dizzy? Why are so pale? I can stay to help you know?” Nico cringed as Harry said it, knowing that the others behind them were probably drawing their brows together trying to piece the pieces together. From the way Nico was limping, the way he clutched his side, Harry’s words, Will’s concerned expression...everything really.

Knocking on Argus’ door and signalling to him to wind the window down, he told Argus where he wanted Harry to be sent to, and tucked Harry into the seat.

“Harry...i…” Harry hushed him. “Its alright Nico. If you need me, you know what to do. If i need your help, i’ll use this drachma to call you.” Nico had been rather surprised when Harry whipped out the currency, then shrugged.

“Try not to kill yourself, okay Harry? I want rest too.” Harry looked like he was not going to reply and Nico straightened up, this time more mindful about his wound, then Harry exhaled.

“I still dont understand why you took immortality rather than your blissful life. I thought...love was...more than that you know.” Nico was seriously getting tired of the same question, but he answered anyway, and spilled the secret out to him. Harry was bursting with excitement.

“Really, Nico, Will doesnt know how lucky he is to have such an awesome boyfriend.” Nico blushed and mumbled.

“He does, Harry, he does.” Shutting the door, Harry cast one last long look at Nico and gave a short, curt wave.

In the moonlight, Nico could see the car reverse and pull back, driving out to the open, the unknown. He could see the darkening of Harry’s silhouette as the car drove away, finally turning round a bend and disappearing out of Nico’s sight. 

Nico walked like his own limbs didnt really belong to me, each step a negotiation rather than an order. Everything hurt. Every damn thing. He winced to trace back the path he had taken, heading to get back to face their questions and prodding but Will ran up to him and wrapped his arms around my waist, kissing Nico sweetly. He tiptoed against the will of his mind to get up to Will’s eye level and he looks at me wide eyed. Nico had been expecting a poke at the abdomen injury but instead he leans toward Nico and kisses him again, this time longer and more meaningful.

“Gods Will, im so sorry. I-i should go to campfire now. And um…” Nico gestured to the Gladers and the seven, catching Hazel’s wink in his direction. “...you guys too. Campfire hasnt ended yet right?” Annabeth shook her head glassily, the gears in her mind whirring.

“Hey, Nico. You’re injured arent you?” Nico shrugged. Annabeth rolled her eyes and grabbed him by the collar of his hoodie, sneaking a slight glance at his wrist when he though he wasnt looking. Nico squirmed.

“Wait! Wait! I...uh...if i tell you all something really important, can i not stay in the infirmary?” Piper raised an eyebrow.

“Or i can just charmspeak you out of it.” Nico crossed his arms, unimpressed. 

“You cant make me, but anyway, i still have to tell you all even if i stay in the infrimary so...here goes nothing.” Putting his right hand behind his back, he pointed his middle finger, thinking about how weird it wouldve been if somebody saw. 

Five...four...three...two...Nico looked around for Hades.

...one. Just as Nico was about to literally lie on the ground to yell at Hades, he appeared. He gave Nico a calculating glance, as if to say, ‘so fast?’. Nico nodded and motioned toward them, letting Hades do the talking while he himself shadow-travelled back to cabin thirteen for some rest. 

He landed right on his bed, completely not caring about his stay in the infirmary, lying down as he had imagined, hearing squeals coming from Will and the seven. Nico sighed. He was finally back. And being a God was a really tiring full-time job, though he had forgotten to ask Hades what was he God of, but it didnt matter. He lay on his bed, not bothering to change out, as he took the earplugs off the side-table as he had left them before. Sticking them into his ears, he scrolled through the playlist of songs on his song-player. 

He grinned as he heard the song that came up. At last, he shut his eyes. 

And for the first time in years, he really really slept.

And thats a wrap for this story! Comment which of the above options yall want or any other stories or if yall simply dont want a sequel. Thanks for commenting


	21. Chapter 21

Thanks for reading my sequel. 

if y'all wanna sequel to the sequel, please state how and what you want it to be like


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